IMPORTANCE OF INTERNSHIPS FOR STUDENTS

The overall goal of education is to adequately prepare students to achieve success in their future careers. While academic rigour and acquisition of important life skills can be considered crucial aspects of the student’s career journey, more and more importance is being placed on the value of experiential and applied learning.

With the ever-growing changes in our economy, it has become imperative for the students to be a part of that growth cycle and constantly upskill their talents and experience to stay ahead in the competitive job market. This is where internships, summer programs and job shadowing opportunities play a crucial role. We have seen colleges and universities prioritizing this type of learning and even schools are now encouraging students to partake in an internship experience or garner an equal number of credits through various Summer Programs.

What is an Internship?

According to dictionary.com, an internship is defined as “any official or formal program to provide practical experience for beginners in an occupation or profession.”

The most important element of internships is that they integrate classroom knowledge and theory with practical application and skills developed in professional or community settings. They bring a wealth of benefits to school as well as college students, both while pursuing higher studies or while seeking a career path post-graduation. An internship gives a student not only the opportunity for career exploration and development but also for learning new skills.

As part of holistic education, the ‘New’ National Education Policy 2020 also proposed providing school students with opportunities for internships with local industry, businesses and arts for their skill development. The policy also includes research internships at higher educational institutions to further improve student’s employability.

Why should the High School Students intern?

While internships are not a requisite for admission to all higher educational institutions, the truth is that completing one will undoubtedly give high school students an extra edge when building up their portfolio, resumé, or college application, both for Indian as well as foreign universities. Needless to say, interning allows students to get up close and personal with something they may have an inclination towards or could be an integral part of their career exploration process. Students can apply their classroom learning to gain an invaluable hands-on experience encouraging experiential learning.

Soft Skills such as creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability, emotional intelligence are listed as the top 5 Soft Skills by LinkedIn in its 2020 Skills Report. These soft skills will help them learn to cope up with the challenges in their adult life encouraging them to learn, live and work better. Internships are perfect channels to help inculcate in students, the soft skills needed in the workplace and leadership positions. 

Internships are also the best way to learn from others. Learning the ins and outs of different career profiles through job shadowing can help students soak up all the information and understand the technical nuances, benefitting them in the long-run. These opportunities will equip them with better decision-making abilities as students through applied learning will be able to figure out well about their likings and disliking. At the same time, they will further understand and can work towards strengthening their skills.

Networking plays a pivotal role in career development. To start with, brainstorming through internship ideas with family members, relatives, and close friends can help students avail the right opportunities. It is important for students to discern and shortlist apt internship opportunities. The benefits of mentorship in internships cannot be emphasized enough.

Needless to mention, the coveted work experience students gain through internships is the best real work experience that students can have, giving them an advantage to an early head start in charting out the right career path for themselves.

Virtual Internship Programs

While the Global Pandemic imposed a lot of restrictions on mobility, it also encouraged everyone to step out of the comfort zone and create an environment that would not, in any way hinder the learning process for students.

Virtual Internships done online or remotely has allowed students to gain invaluable experience from the comforts of their homes and according to the schedule that suits them. Working remotely has encouraged students to improve their internet literacy while gaining academic credit.

High school students should understand the importance of developing professional aptitude and create an in-depth profile through internships and summer programs that will go a long way in creating bright prospects.

There are countless ways for students to create a mark for themselves in their career journey, and one way to do so is to start early: gain skills, experience, and a professional network through internships while still in high school.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY-‘CHOOSE TO CHALLENGE’

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International women’s day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. While we seek out and celebrate women’s achievements, we also “Choose to Challenge” to create radical change and transformation.

Indian and world history is galore with instances of courage shown by women in choosing to challenge and bringing positive changes to the societal norms. As we celebrate the day to act upon accelerating women’s equality, let’s read and get inspired by the stories of African American female mathematicians and engineers-Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Dr. Christine Darden who through sheer tenacity, force of will, and intellect, made their mark in American history.

These African American mathematicians were an integral part of NASA’s space race and the women team of  human ‘computers’ who calculated by hand the complex equations that allowed space heroes like Neil Armstrong, Alan Shepard, and John Glenn to travel safely to space.

Katherine Johnson-a mathematician who calculated flight trajectories for various missions, Dorothy Vaughan-NASA supervisor, Mary Jackson-NASA’s first female aeronautical engineer and Dr. Christine Darden– leader of the Sonic Boom Group of NASA’s High-Speed Research Program ‘chose to challenge’ not only gender but racial discrimination too and proved their mettle despite toiling under less than favourable conditions during those times.

Katherine Johnson

Katherine Johnson graduated from high school at 14 and the historically black West Virginia State University at 18. In 1938, as a graduate student, she became one of three students and the only woman to desegregate the University. In 1953, Johnson was hired by National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) which became National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) five years later, by the Space Act of 1958.

Johnson’s first big NASA assignment was in 1961 when she computed the trajectories for Alan Shepard’s historic flight. She also contributed to America’s first orbital spaceflight piloted by John Glenn. Glenn wasn’t keen on putting his life in the hands of the computers that would be used to handle the mission on Earth. He asked the head engineers to “get the girl to check the numbers… If she says the numbers are good… I’m ready to go.” Katherine’s intellect was conspicuous in her work.

Katherine Johnson ‘chose to challenge’ overcoming all the hurdles during her initial days in NASA.  She worked for over 30 years before retiring in 1986. Katherine Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. In 2016, NASA dedicated the Langley Research Center’s Katherine Johnson Computational Building in her honour. When she turned a whopping 100 years old, NASA honoured her by reintroducing a facility in her home state of West Virginia as the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility.

Dorothy Vaughan

After earning a degree in mathematics and working as a teacher, Dorothy was one of NACA’s early computer hires during World War II. In December 1943 she started working for NACA’s West Area Computing unit, a group of African American female mathematicians who were considered “human computers,” performing complex computations and analyzing data for aerospace engineers. She became a leader and advocate for the “West Computers.” In 1948, she became the then NACA’s first black supervisor and later, an expert FORTRAN programmer. Despite her successes and capability, she was constantly passed over for promotions. She constantly struggled with the same things her colleagues as female computers did while at NASA. She however ‘chose to challenge’ as she knew she was changing the world. She retired from NASA in 1971 and was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States in 2019.

Mary Jackson

Jackson went through several career changes before making history at NASA. After graduating with dual degrees in Maths and Physical science Jackson joined the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory (currently the NASA Langley Research Center) in 1951 and worked in the racially segregated West Area Computing Unit. 

After several years working as a human computer, Jackson took an assignment in assisting Kazimierz Czarnecki, a senior aeronautical research engineer who encouraged her to become an engineer herself. To do that, however, she needed to take after-work graduate courses held at segregated Hampton High School. Jackson ‘chose to challenge’ and petitioned the City of Hampton to be able to learn next to her white peers. She won, completed the courses, and was promoted to engineer in 1958, making her NASA’s first African American female aeronautical engineer. Over the next two decades, she worked at several NASA departments, and authored or co-authored 12 technical papers before retiring in 1985. Jackson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States in 2019.

Dr. Christine Darden

Junior to her exceptional predecessors of female pool of human computers at the Langley Research Center, she went on to lead the Sonic Boom Group of NASA’s High-Speed Research Program. Her ground-breaking work laid the foundation for research on experimental planes (known as X-planes) that NASA launched in 2016.

After graduating with master’s degree in applied mathematics in 1967, she was hired as a data analyst in the high-speed aeronautics division at NASA. She was a part of female mathematicians who helped the male engineers create documents about wing and airflow shapes for the military and airplane companies. She found out that males and females with the same background were assigned different roles and females were not encouraged enough to become engineers. She ‘chose to challenge’ when she questioned the director about the same. Eventually, she got promoted to engineering.

She retired from NASA in 2007 after a 40-year career and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States in 2019 alongside the other three African American mathematicians for their scientific contributions.

Indeed, these women paved the way for women of colour to make history in the fields of science, math, and technology and are an inspiration to one and all. Their stories first were brought to light by Margot Lee Shetterly in her book Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race. The book was later adapted into the movie with the same name Hidden Figures in 2016.

Remember, we all have the power to create a change like these inspirational women did decades ago. Change isn’t just about big headline moments, legal victories, and international agreements: the way we talk, think, and act every day can create a ripple effect that benefits everyone. Let’s all ‘Choose to Challenge’ and work upon creating a change.

Hopes for the New Beginnings!!

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When someone asks me what I wish for 2021, I go speechless as I have so many things to talk about after the unexpected turn of events in 2020. The year came with a whole package from forest fires in Australia, to the tragic killing of George Floyd by American police violating the human rights, to the worldwide recession because of covid-19 causing death to millions of peoples, to the Beirut blast, to the Punjab farmers protest and finally to the spotting of the new virus in UK covid-20 that had an even rapid transmission. These situations did not only affect the world’s economic and financial stability but brought mental as well as physical illness to a lot of us.

“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” This quote was so apt for the situation we were in last year. We didn’t know what was in store for us when in 2020, covid-19 came as an unwelcome guest into our lives. Believe me, when I say, we are a very resilient species as we adapted ourselves to the situation gradually, albeit with a lot of restrictions.

“No matter what happens or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will get better tomorrow.” This light of hope burned brightly within us throughout and helped us to “Shine like a diamond” :). 

Keeping the hopes alive, I too have few aspirations and wishes for the year 2021. First and foremost, I hope 2021 is better than 2020.  I wish I can go back to my school to relive those fantastic memories with my friends from playing basketball in our physical education period to sharing our food, to playing truth or dare in the school library and studying with my classmates in the same classroom with the teacher teaching us physically. I wish I can meet my friends without any restrictions and can party without the Covid-19 ghosting me. I crave that I become as jaunty and happy as I was before. I pine to get back those beautiful days. 

As a student, I would like to add that no matter how this past year has been and whatever we have gone through, our education didn’t take a back seat. We had online school sessions connecting us with teachers through different virtual modes. Projects, exams and events were held as they always were, but with slight changes. It was one of a kind of experience for all of us.  It definitely cannot be compared with the live school sessions, but it made us a little more independent and flexible. 

I am already looking forward to good times ahead this year and hope to attend school and meet my peers and teachers.  I ardently believe that there is always a light at the end of the dark tunnel and I hope everything gets back to normalcy soon. 

–Jahnavi Singh-Grade 11 student

Breaking the glass ceiling: Woman Commercial pilot

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In another historic move on 11th January 2021, Air India’s longest direct route flight with the all-women pilot team landed at Bengaluru International airport from San Francisco, flying over the North Pole and covering a distance of about 16000 km and saving 10 tonnes of fuel. At the forefront of this landmark journey is Air India Captain Zoya Agarwal along with her team of women pilots Captain Papagiri Thanmei, Captain Akanksha Sonawane & Captain Shivani Manhas.

Captain Zoya Aggarwal is an accomplished pilot with a flying experience of more than 8,000 flying hours. She has command experience in a B-777 aircraft of more than 10 years and more than 2,500 flying hours.

Flying over the North Pole is extremely technical and requires skill and experience and this responsibility was given to Zoya, the youngest woman commander in the world on Boeing 777.

When Zoya joined Air India, she was among a handful of women pilots and in 2013 when she became captain, it was a moment of utmost joy for her parents.

I am sure Zoya’s journey has piqued a lot of interest among the girls in particular.

A perfect mix of science, technology and travel, a career in Aviation can top your list if you are ready to explore one of the most adventurous career domains.   

An Airline/Commercial Pilot is a pilot who flies a specific aircraft type for an airline and holds a commercial pilot certificate issued by an authority. In India, the authority is the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Being a Commercial Pilot would require you to take command of a flight’s controls, and ensure that passengers and cargo are carried safely around the globe.

To pursue Aviation as a career, you need to opt for science stream – Physics, Mathematics, and Chemistry being compulsory subjects. For a non-science student, it will be required to fulfil the eligibility criteria of the subjects through the National Institute of Open Schooling.

The admission to a pilot training course happens through a written test, medical examination, and an interview besides scoring a minimum of 50% in class 12th. The minimum age to apply for Student Pilot License is 16 years, Private Pilot License is 17 years and Commercial Pilot License is 18 years. It is recommended to enroll in a flying school and pursue B.Sc. Aviation.

Some of the leading institutes in India for pursuing an Aviation course are:

Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy (IGRUA), Rae Bareilly
Rajiv Gandhi Academy of Aviation Technology, Kerala
National Flying Training Institute, Gondia
Government Flying Club
Bombay Flying Club, Mumbai
CAE Oxford Aviation Academy, Gondia,
Indigo Cadet Training Program (Hamilton, New Zealand & Hyderabad, India).

Few important guidelines one should make a note of:
Every training institute has its respective specifications concerning physical fitness and eyesight specifically
One has to clear the class -I medical exam as prescribed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
Private pilot & commercial pilot license requires practical training and completion of flying hours
Private pilot license requires a minimum of 60 hours of flying
Commercial pilot license requires minimum of 250 hours of flying (including 60 hours of Private pilot license)

Skills Required for a pilot:
Strong technical skills
Mental stability and physical fitness
Critical thinking and decision-making
Communication skills
Leadership skills
High-level flexibility
Good sense of teamwork

In Zoya’s words, “there is no dream that is impossible”. So, if you wish to kickstart your tantalizing career as a pilot, remember the sky’s the limit 😊

Being a Superwoman

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We have come about a time and age when the ideals of feminism, equality and freedom to each individual are encouraged more than the past irrelevant orthodox beliefs and norms of patriarchy. 

We are gradually becoming more open to the thought of treating both the sexes equally and giving women more representation in every previously male-dominated field and a bigger platform to express themselves. This growth has been rapid through many years of struggle and protests. 

Coming from beliefs of the past was the fact that women must not be allowed to go out of the house and shall be confined only to doing household chores. But over the years this tradition is now long left behind. We now acknowledge the identity and independence of a woman. 

They are far more ahead of what the past expected out of them. Women are making their mark in every field as army officers, sportspersons, doctors, engineers etc. They are not confined anymore only within the boundaries of four walls. Instead, they are now appreciated and in turn given the wings to fly. As the role of women in society is changing, so are the people. Times have changed and we can now see men contributing their bit and helping women realise their dreams. 

It can be agreed upon that it may take time to bring about such a drastic yet crucial change but as it does, it changes the perspectives of people and banishes all age-old prejudices and stereotypes. 

Today, women are not considered a burden to the families but are considered as the assets and backbone of their families. We now see strong, empowered self-sufficient role models in front of us. They are very well aware of the fact that they have the potential to do anything and everything they wish to. There is much more acknowledgement and acceptance of their potential. 

These ideologies of a changed society make up for a better future as the younger generation embarks upon these ideals to provide equality and freedom to every being. 

The Constitution of India not only grants equality to women but also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in favour of women. While there still exists a gap in the implementation of laws and policies to address discrimination, economic disadvantages, and violence against women especially in rural areas, we hope and wish these are taken care of in the coming times. As we advance and the patriarchal societal beliefs change, we can see women playing a pivotal role in the progress of humankind.

—-Gauri Dhingra(Grade 11 student)

Celestial Event-Planetary Science

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It’s time for the sky gazers to get ready for the last and most prominent celestial event of the year 2020 as Jupiter and Saturn align in a way that they will appear as one bright star in the night sky on December 21, Monday. What makes this conjunction great is that the two planets of our solar system will come close to the point that they will be separated by just one-tenth of a degree.

The two planets have not come closer than this since almost four centuries ago. On July 16, 1623, the two planets were 5’10” (five minutes 10 seconds) from each other compared to 6’06” of arc on December 21. There have been only two more instances where Jupiter and Saturn have come nearly as close as what we will witness this year.

The good news is that to be able to witness this event, one does not need to have special equipment as it will be visible to the naked eye and if you are still not able to get a good look of the event, you can watch the live stream on NASA’s website or its Facebook and YouTube channels. Alternately, you can also view live streaming by Bengaluru’s Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium on its YouTube channel and Facebook

As we await the spectacular celestial event, let’s peep into the field of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences.

Astronomy and planetary science are the study of objects and phenomena that occur beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. This includes investigating stars and their interaction with each other and the planetary systems that orbit them.

Planetary scientists are generally hybrid experts in astronomy, geology, chemistry, physics, and/or biology.

In modern times, planetary science began in astronomy, from studies of the unresolved planets. In the forefront was the original planetary astronomer Galileo who discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter, the mountains on the Moon and first observed the rings of Saturn, that were further researched on later.

Planetary science studies have various disciplines like observational and theoretical astronomy, geology (exogeology), atmospheric science, and an emerging subspecialty in planetary oceans.

Government of India mainly supports the education sector around astronomy in India and the below-mentioned institutes are contributing immensely to space education.

Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Nainital.

Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram

Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune

Raman Research Institute, Bangalore

Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad

School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, NISER, Bhubaneshwar

To all those interested in the study of Planetary Sciences, happy learning Infinity & Beyond!!

Careers Of The Future: Cognitive Science

What is Cognitive Science?

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The study of Cognitive Sciences traverses multiple disciplines such as anthropology, engineering, computer science, linguistics, medicine, neuroscience, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and others to offer multi-faceted explanations of individual and social behavior.

The initiative of mapping traditional Indian knowledge and understanding of the human mind with futuristic technology has been taken by IIT Kanpur that has launched a new department of Cognitive Science. The institute will be the first among the IITs to have a fully-fledged department of Cognitive Science. It aims to devise futuristic technology by understanding, mirroring and adapting the complexity of the perception and processes of the human mind.

Applications of cognitive science include understanding and developing methods for effective learning, remediation for mental-disorders, and development of better user interfaces to be utilized by software companies. Contributions from Cognitive Sciences are also valuable for the development of artificial intelligence, multimodal communication, cognitive-robots, etc. The COVID pandemic has also seen inputs from cognitive science to understand the virus and its effects, such as signals in speech and vocal system coordination that can indicate the presence of COVID-19, behavioral studies to help stop spread of COVID misinformation, effect of COVID on the brain, and the social impact of COVID-19.

The Department of Cognitive Science will prepare students for careers by bringing together knowledge in fields of artificial intelligence, business, data analysis, government intelligence, healthcare, human performance, information processing, law, marketing, product design, and software design.

Areas of research that the new department will focus on include Consciousness Studies, Perception and Action, Decision Making and Reasoning, Language Processing, Social Cognition, Applied Cognitive Sciences (HMI/HCI, Education, Mental health) and Robotics.

IIT Kanpur first ventured into Cognitive Science, formally, by establishing an interdisciplinary program (IDP) in Cognitive Science in 2017 while the proposal to start the new department was approved very recently in December 2020.

Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur, said, “The pioneering step of establishing a separate department for Cognitive Science is expected to provide impetus to the research and teaching programs in Cognitive Science at IIT Kanpur. The new department will address this lacuna and help India to become a pioneer in the field of cognitive science. The department will study the working of the human mind and mechanisms in the brain involved in mental processes and interface with departments like BSBE on neuroscience-related areas. The new department will also work in collaboration with the Computer Sciences and Engineering department to develop new artificially intelligent and machine-learning interfaces.”

Cognitive Science in the twenty-first century is steadily evolving from an innovative interdisciplinary field to an academic discipline of its own and we look forward to further developments in this field of study in India.

^{Source: NDTV Education, India Education Diary}

Space Explorers

Time to rejoice as another Indian-American created news on December 9. Astronaut Raja Chari was selected as a part of 18-member team for a manned mission to Moon by NASA.

Raja Jon Vurputoor Chari is the only Indian-American in the list of 18 astronauts selected by NASA to train for its Artemis moon landing programme. He has received a bachelor’s degree in astronautical engineering and a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics. He is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy, MIT and US Naval Test Pilot School and was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. After completing the initial training, he was selected for the ambitious mission assignment.

The modern lunar exploration programme will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024 and establish a sustainable human lunar presence by the end of the decade.

Every child who has been inspired by the likes of Rakesh Sharma and Kalpana Chawla has always had a fantasy of exploring space and have always looked up to organisations like ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to fulfil their space voyage dreams.

These elite organisations have been regularly sending manned missions to the International Space Station for Research and the specialists they choose are from varied fields like Physics, Chemistry, Maths, Biology, Geology, Geophysics or Aerospace Engineering. 

Other international aerospace companies like Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, United Technologies have also been major contributors in the initiative. Back home, organisations like HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited), DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation), NAL (National Aeronautics Laboratories) have also paved way for aspiring astronauts.

To fulfil their dreams, it is equally important for the aspirants to possess great observational skills as well as team spirit as almost all the missions are worked in teams. It is imperative for the aspirants not only to be physically fit but also mentally strong. Backed with these skills, aspirants must also possess a certain number of hours of flying experience along with an excellent academic profile.

Being an astronaut is such a unique and fascinating experience that we’ll have to look to the thoughts and recollections of others to understand what it’s like to gaze at Earth from above. Those who harbor a dream of becoming an astronaut must for sure read the following books:

• Earthrise: My Adventures as an Apollo 14 Astronaut, by Edgar Mitchell
• To Space and Back by Sally Ride
• Flying to the Moon – An Astronaut’s Story by Michael Collins
• An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield
• Endurance – A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly

As with every career path, being an astronaut has its pros and cons. 

Seeing the universe, exploring and visiting different planets, floating around in zero gravity witnessing cosmic phenomena, examining some potential dangers lurking in the dark vacuum of space and preparing the world for the same are few advantages of being a space explorer.

Being exposed to not only natural dangers but also radiation in space, the space trash from more than 50 years of space exploration posing danger due to the risk of space debris coming into contact with the hull of the spacecraft are few cons of being life-risking adventurers.

However, when we placed astronauts on the moon for the first time, we took a small step for man and one giant leap for mankind and this euphoric feeling would encourage a lot of us to become space explorers 🙂

–Manjula Ovalekar

Career guidance coach

World Politics and Diplomacy with International Relations

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For students with a keen interest in world affairs, diplomacy, global history and international politics, Delhi University has no course to offer at the undergraduate level. While an MA Politics course with specialisation in International Relations is offered at the postgraduate level, students aspiring to pursue the same after class XII have to resort to other universities.

The discipline that skills students to perform in careers such as academia, journalism, legislative assistance, development consultancy, international public policy, diplomatic careers has emerged quite recently.

“A discipline in International Relations has grown over the years and so are the opportunities. Varied professions such as Area Studies, Peace Studies, Conflict resolution, Think tanks etc. have emerged and the need for skilled professionals with expertise in international politics is on a rise,” says Jitendra Nayak, head, Department Political Science, Adamas University.

The subject not only gives an insight into world politics but also enhances their critical thinking, he adds. A better understanding of international relation helps to mitigate world problems.

Shiv Nadar University
Shiv Nadar University offers BA (Research) in International Relations. The programme focuses on covering different facets of world politics such as the evolving nature of power, the pathways to conflict transformation, causes of war, the changing character of diplomacy, among others. The curriculum is designed with a special focus on countries in Asia, particularly China. Students are also offered the possibility of learning Mandarin at the University.

Admission is based on the UG admission entrance tests SNU-SAT and APT. Alternatively, the university also accepts SAT scores. Students meeting the eligibility are further evaluated based on personal interview rounds.

Course fee: Tuition fee is Rs 50,000 per year. All programmes at Shiv Nadar University are fully residential. Living expenses (including all meals) OF Rs 1.4 lakh per year is also charged.

Adamas University
The Department of Political Science at School of Liberal Arts and Culture Studies, Adamas University offers a course in Political Science with specialisation in International Relations. The three-year BA programme aims at developing an understanding of global politics and basics of the International legal system. Compulsory Internship is also a part of the course.

The admission process for the course is based on Adamas University Admission Test (AUAT). The minimum qualification for a prospective student to join the programme is intermediate with at least 50% marks.

Course fee: Rs 2.97 lakhs for a three-year course.

Ashoka University
Ashoka University offers an interdisciplinary major in History and International Relations. The curriculum includes courses such as Conflicts and Cooperation in International Politics, Introduction to International Relations Theory, Decolonisation: An International History and Introduction to International History. The course aims to enable students to get a basic understanding of the significant developments in the world.

Applicants are evaluated based on their level of engagement with academics, extra-curricular activities, interests and potential.

Course fee: The tuition fee per annum is Rs 8,25,000. The residential cost at the university is Rs 1,62,000. The total cost of the course per annum is, therefore, Rs 9,87,000

Amity University
Amity Institute of International Studies, Amity University offers a BA (Hons) International Relations. The three-year programme at the university covers issues and challenges that govern world politics, political theory, Development of International Politics since 1945, Indian political ideas, Indian foreign policy, evolution of international law, introduction of Artificial Intelligence in IR among others. Besides the curriculum in IR, the course also offers additional teaching in a foreign business language. Students can choose from the various foreign languages available such as German, French, Spanish, among others.

Students with a 55% mark in Intermediate can apply for the programme.

Course fee: Rs 50,000 per annum.

Source: Education Times

Through My Eyes: A Teenager Diary

There are several stages of life like infancy, childhood, teenage, adulthood and senior citizenship that a human goes through. Although the phase of teen years comes before the age of eighteen and ideally teenagers should be considered as children, they are a little different from children as they tend to cultivate some manners of adults, while they retain some from their childhood. Teenage is a time of life where you are preparing yourself for the outer world, and due to a lot of misunderstandings, often get into a lot of trouble. 

I will be turning fourteen in December, and this year has brought a lot of changes in my life. I have already noticed a lot of physical and mental changes happening to me.  Multitasking with school and other activities has proved challenging for me. I guess that’s the reason I feel mentally exhausted and have noticed the same in my peers and friends too.

Teenagers like to spend time in their room, often scrolling through social media or talking to friends. We are quite energetic at the wrong times as the circadian rhythm also gets disturbed. We are more independent than when we were children and can grow quite rebellious. It is the time when we are discovering about ourselves, our interests, our moral attitude and the type of company we prefer. We like to stay with our friends more than our parents. 

I do have a conflict of interest in plenty of decisions and situations and cannot agree with every decision my family makes. There are mood swings, probably due to an imbalance of hormones. There are times when I am exhausted or when I am incredibly energetic without doing any activity and like to share my feelings with friends more often. I reckon that because I think that my friends will understand what I am going through as they are also experiencing the same things and am unable to make my parents understand my problems and feelings, however petty it may look to them. 

As a teenager, I have also started to make decisions for my future as an adult, and often get demotivated, fearful and stressed when the going gets tough for me. I get apprehensive before an examination or result day and often feel weak due to the anxiety. Now, this is something that I have decided to overcome.

Being a teenager is exhilarating and debilitating as it is nothing less than a roller-coaster ride. It has made me more independent and responsible than before. It has also instilled in me a sense of maturity, creativity and the courage to experience new things. I can take care of my school work and my interests without my parents helping, which was not the case a few years ago. At the same time, it has also given me mood swings, a rebellious nature, a little demotivation and a lot of acne 😦

It is the time when we are shaping ourselves into adults, and our decisions right now may be laughed at by our future selves, but the most important thing I feel is to spend the present enjoyably, without worrying about the future, because things will be alright, sooner rather than later 🙂

Contributed by Aashvi Agarwal: Grade 9 student