Report - MentorYes Seminar on Undergraduate Opportunities

CONCEPT

MentorYes connects students and young professionals with the right mentors for guidance on academics,admissions, careers and more. Launched in 2016 by Deepak Hariharan (IIM Calcutta) and Sharanya Chandran(London School of Economics), MentorYes aims to address the persistent gap in systematic advice andmentoring that would help one make informed choices and decisions on studies and careers.

This seminar aimed to provide systematic guidance to undergraduate aspirants on course curricula andobjectives, career and further study opportunities after each course, and most importantly, how these shortterm study decisions connect and link with longer term career aspirations of students. Senior Faculty members,Deans and Principals of Delhi University colleges and Ambedkar University spoke on courses in Sciences,Commerce & Management, Humanities and Social Science streams. The Seminar included a session onunconventional opportunities like Sports, Entrepreneurship and Performing Arts that the youth can aspire for.

SESSIONS & PANELISTSSciences

• Dr. S V Eswaran (Moderator)Emeritus Scientist, UNESCO-DBT Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad,Emeritus Professor (Hony.) – AcSIR• Dr. S K Garg (Chemistry)

Principal, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College• Dr. P Hemalatha Reddy (Biology)

Principal, Sri Venkateswara College

• Dr. Sanjay Kumar (Physics) Dean (Academics), St. Stephens College• Dr. Geetha Venkataraman (Mathematics)

Dean (Assessment, Evaluation and Student Progression),Professor, Ambedkar University Delhi

Management & Commerce

• Ms. Reena Chadha (Commerce)Associate Professor,Shri Ram College of Commerce

• Dr. Kumar Bijoy (Management)Assistant Professor,Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies

• Mr. Tushar Marwaha (Management)Assistant Professor,Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies

Unconventional Opportunities

• Mr. Rajiv Chandran (Moderator)National Information Officer,United Nations Information Centre for India & Bhutan

• Mr. Kishore Taid (Sports)Co-Founder, Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools,Founding Trustee, Indian Football Foundation

• Ms. Sharanya Chandran (Arts)Bharatanatyam Dancer & Development Professional

• Mr. Thomas Fenn (Entrepreneurship)Entrepreneur and Restauranteur, Mahabelly

Humanities & Social Sciences

• Dr. Krishna Menon (Moderator)Professor, Centre for Gender Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi

• Dr. Rina Ramdev (English)Associate Professor,Sri Venkateswara College

• Dr. Kanchan Verma (Indian Languages)Assistant Professor,Lady Shri Ram College for Women

• Dr. Salil Misra (History)Professor of History,Ambedkar University Delhi

• Ms. Sanjana Kadyan (Economics)Research Scholar - Applied Econometrics,Centre of Economic Studies & Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University

• Ms. Vandana Madan (Sociology)Associate Professor,Janki Devi Memorial College

• Dr. Rachana Johri (Psychology)Associate Professor,Ambedkar University Delhi

• Ms. Ambar Ahmad (Political Science)Assistant Professor, Kamala Nehru College

Copyright 2016 Think Infiniti Innovations Private Limited. All Rights Reserved. All views and opinions expressed do not necessarily represent MentorYes’s view point or recommendations. Readers are advised to exercise their own diligence before taking decisions based on this document. Neither the Speakers nor MentorYes (and its holding company) are liable for any consequences from decisions / actions taken based on this document.No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical or otherwise), without the prior permission of the publisher. Requests for permission should be directed to [email protected], or mailed to Permissions, Think Infiniti Innovations Private Limited, D-56,Gulmohar Park, New Delhi – 110049, INDIA.

SCIENCES

Dr. S. K. GargPrincipal,

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College

“A Chemist has no future unless one penetrates either intoBiological Sciences or Material Sciences. The applicationsof Chemistry lie in these areas.”B.Sc.(H) has 70% component of the main stream andremaining from other courses whereas B.Sc. gives equalweightage of 30% each to three courses and remaining 10%to English and Environmental Studies.B.Sc.(H) Chemistry focuses on three core areas: Inorganic,Organic & Physical Chemistry. Analytical Chemistry is used asan aid for teaching above three.After B.Sc.(H) in Chemistry, students can go for higherstudies - M.Sc., integrated M.Sc. + PhD, M.Tech. or go abroadwith the aid of different scholarship programs.A B.Sc.(H) Chemistry graduate can write all competitiveexams for which graduation is the eligibility.

B.Sc.(H) Chemistry graduate can work as medical representative in Pharmaceutical companies,as scientist in Bhabha Atomic Research Center, as technical assistant in Sri Ram Institute ofIndustrial Research or work at various levels with other scientific organizations like CSIR, DRDO,ONGC, Geological Survey of India, Bureau of Indian Standards etc.Graduates in Chemistry (and any science) can go in for Civil services, Banking etc., there areseveral options open to them.Academics is a good option – after M.Sc. (for teaching in colleges) or after B. Ed. (for schools)“Look for your Interest, the college will be there with you for three years, but the course willbe there with you for the whole life.”

MODERATOR

Dr. S. V. EswaranEmeritus Scientist, UNESCO-DBT

Regional Centre for Biotechnology

Emeritus Professor (Hony.) –

AcSIR

“There is life beyond the IIT/ PMT – parents please keepoff, and let your children grow in an organic manner”.Parents should not only give importance to salary, job andstatus in the society, but also the interests of the student,while choosing a course.Proper guidance should be given at all times to thestudents by conducting regular sessions in the schools andcolleges which would create awareness on variousundergraduate programmes helping the students tochoose the right path for them.Teachers must be good mentors. A teacher who is not amentor, is like a road sign, which the students don’t evensee after passing.

CHEMISTRY

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PHYSICS

BIOLOGY

Dr. P. Hemalatha Reddy

Principal,

Sri Venkateshwara College

“While choosing a course, one must have fairly goodknowledge of where it is going to lead you after 3 years.”It is no way possible to take up classical Botany or Zoologypapers at the post graduate level, if it’s not done at the undergraduate level.The elective courses must be chosen wisely as it helps incracking entrance exams other than that of the core course.Also, chosen electives can be very well combined with the corecourse at the masters level.Today, Biology is leading us to Human-Genome projects, drugdesign, vaccine design and a lot of avenues which yield directbenefits to society.For further studies, either M.Sc. or intergrated M.Sc. + PhDprograms can be opted all across the country or abroad.

Biology provides a lot of interdisciplinary options. One of them is Post graduation in Bio-Informatics which is biology with physics or mathematics and Computers. Other possiblefields are Bio-Instrumentation, Biomedical Engineering, Neuro Sciences, EnvironmentalManagement etc.

Dr. Sanjay Kumar

Dean (Academics),

St. Stephen's College

“It’s not what the choices you make, which makes what youare going to be, it’s what you make of those choices.”One should choose to study Physics for the abilities and skillsone derives by learning Physics.bDuring B.Sc. (H) Physics, onepicks up ability to learn and develop concepts, to understandrelationships between concepts and the mathematical abilities.Systematic observations made through experiments are thestarting point of Physics and plays a very important role in studyof Physics.You should take up Physics purely if you have the passion for it.In Sciences like Physics, you have to be patient and it can take awhile for the career to build, and you should be willing to workwith uncertainties, and your passion will yield success.

Based on past students’ record, B.Sc. (H) Physics graduates have performed well in verydiverse fields – Economics, Actuarial Science, Management, Computer Science, and evenHumanities and Social Sciences like Sociology, History, Literature etc. The abilities andskills developed in B.Sc. Physics can aid in all these future options as well.

SCIENCES







MATHEMATICS

Dr. Geetha VenkataramanDean (Assessment,

Evaluation and Student

Progression) &

Professor of Mathematics,

Ambedkar University Delhi

“However versatile it might be, how many ever careeroptions it has, if you spend three years doing a subjectwhich you don't like or are not interested in, it is hell.”Mathematics has an inherent problem solving nature in it. Itcreates ability to analyze, understand and solve; these arethe key things which are useful in whatever you do. Thismakes mathematics versatile.College level mathematics is different from school levelmathematics. In school, you learn methods; whereascollege level mathematics is about why those methodswork.You should not get into a narrow specialization at theundergraduate level.The only thing one cannot do after getting intoMathematics is to move into pure sciences.One can opt for stream change after B.Sc. (H) Mathematicsand switch to Economics, Computer Science, MathematicalFinance, Law or even Humanities and Social Sciences.

One can go for masters in specialized fields like Neuro Science, Operational Research etc.Diverse career opportunities are also available for graduates in Mathematics – especiallyas analyst in big data, banks, various opportunities in DST, DRDO etc.

SCIENCES







MANAGEMENT

Ms. Reena ChadhaAssociate Professor,

Sri Ram College of Commerce

Students without Mathematics in Class 11 and 12 are generallynot considered for B.Com. (H). Even if considered, 2.5% isreduced during the admission process.B.Com. course content is nearly same as B.Com. (H) but theexam papers that are set are slightly on an easier level thanB.Com. (H).“What you study at school level in Accountancy or Businessstudies is only the tip of the iceberg.”B. Com. (H) is not just Accounting, Economics or Businessstudies. A wide spectrum of courses including Corporate Laws,Business Mathematics, Computer Applications, etc. are anintegral part of it.Most of the subjects taught during B.Com. (H) are towardsFinance, Management, Accountancy and Law.

“A degree in B.Com. can help you get into the fields of accountancy, management oreven it would help you become a corporate lawyer.”

Dr. Kumar BijoyAssistant Professor,

Shaheed Sukhdev College of

Business Studies

BMS and BBA (FIA) both are course developed as professionalcourses by all aspects.During admission, 85% weightage is given to the entrance testand 15% to the GD and interview. Minimum 60% marks in class12th along with mathematics is required.“Those who want to make their career in management butare not sure about which segment of management to choose,should go for BMS. “In BMS, 1st and 2nd years are based on general managementbut one of the disciplines; Finance, Marketing or HumanResource Management, has to chosen in the 3rd year.BBA (FIA) is 3 years exclusive Finance centric course which goesinto deeper insights of it.

Internships are considered a vital part of the courses. It is compulsory to do an internshipafter 4th semester, while it's optional after 2nd semester.“These courses offer a lot of skills that a student can acquire like instant reasoning,handling big data, analytical skills and other personality development skills.”

MANAGEMENT & COMMERCE

COMMERCE







MANAGEMENT & COMMERCE

MANAGEMENT

Mr. Tushar MarwahaAssistant Professor,

Shaheed Sukhdev College of

Business Studies

After doing BMS or BBA (FIA), students have multipleoptions available for them. They can go for jobs throughcampus placements, take up Entrepreneurship, supportedby institutes' incubation centers, or go for higher studies.80% of the batch is placed with multiple options and nearlythe entire batch has decent options to work upon.These degrees are terminal by nature. If you go for an MBAafterwards, you will realize that a lot of things you havealready studied and given extensive exams for.“General job profiles available for the graduates areResearch Analyst, Business Analyst, Financial Analyst,Consultancy profiles etc.“For these courses, the placements is managed by studentsand depends on the level of dedication the studentspresents towards it.







Mr. Rajiv ChandranNational Information OfficerUnited Nations Information Centre for India & Bhutan

“The session on Unconventional Professions could bereferred as the PAGALPAN session.”One should refer to the following P's while choosing acareer or course.

PagalpanPassionPlanPartnershipPaisa, &Practicality

Students can choose unconventional courses for aholistic development – for instance, ‘Management ofNon-Profit Organization’ will be introduced in the Indianuniversities very soon.

Mr. Kishore TaidFounding Trustee,

Indian Football FoundationDirector & Co-Founder,

Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools

Head – Operations & Strategy,All India Football Federation

15 years back, we never heard of any session onUnconventional Opportunities. That this discussion ishappening means that such opportunities are emerging.The reason I left my career in banking was purelybecause of my passion for football.“It is important to be passionate, but add thepracticality check. I have seen people dive into thingswith pure passion, but not able to sustain impracticalinitiatives.”In a diverse country like India, there are opportunities ineach and every sector.“Don't limit yourself thinking about only the economicpart of things, because today there is an economicallyviable model in every industry.”

UNCONVENTIONAL

OPPORTUNITIES

MODERATOR

SPORTS







Ms. Sharanya ChandranBharatanatyam Dancer and

Choreographer,

Economist & Development

Professional,

Curator, World Economic

Forum’s Global Shapers Hub in

New Delhi, 2014

Dance was there throughout everything in life for me,through school, through college, through masters indevelopment. It was a very conscious decision tocontinue dance, because that's what kept me active andgoing.“Dance has so much to offer. It's just so holistic, be itmovement, music, philosophy, architecture, sculpture,mythology, history. It's a beautiful coming together ofall of this.”The rigor, discipline, sensitivity, aesthetics, team work,skills that one learns through performing arts helps oneto perform better in other professions also.There is no money in dance and it is true for a lot ofother performing arts as well. A lot of performers try tobuild buffers in different ways. Some opt for academia asa part time job. Some take up other professions inparallel. Some choose to teaching their art to youngstudents. There are various opportunities to workaround this.“Performers have to double up as their own managers, advertisers, organizers,networkers, etc. That is the reality and is true for all performing arts.”

Mr. Thomas FennEntrepreneur & Restauranteur,

Mahabelly

College is when you define your choices. One must try asmany things as you can in college – not just academics.After you pickup a course, you may realize that actually youdon't like it. Then it is you who has to decide whether toswitch or continue. If it doesn't make you happy, then Quit,it's fine to do so.“Only decision that is worth making is are you going tofight this rat race on your terms or on the terms thatsystem sets for you.”Entrepreneurship is not for the faint hearted, you worklong hours, you build everything from scratch – but it isgratifying at several levels, and you’re creating value.

UNCONVENTIONAL

OPPORTUNITIES

ARTS

ENTREPRENEURSHIP







MODERATOR

ENGLISH

Dr. Krishna MenonProfessor

Centre for Gender Studies,Ambedkar University Delhi

Associate Professor,Lady Shri Ram College

A pursuit of Humanities & Social Sciences helps us interrogatethings that seem natural, inevitable and eternal truths aboutourselves and about human condition.“When one does a degree in Humanities & Social Sciences,he/she studies and learns how to make a logical, coherentargument and how to structure and systemize his/herthoughts.”Humanities help us understand who we are by actuallyunderstanding who the other is.Humanities humanizes people.Every government, bureaucratic organization, planner,criminology department, police, media houses, everybodyneeds a social scientist, to give due perspective on whatsociety is like.

Dr. Rina RamdevAssociate Professor,

Sri Venkateswara College

“B.Sc. (H) English is not a language skill or speaking or creativewriting course. It is a literature course which involves criticalthinking.”If anyone is studying English, there is no guarantee that he willbecome an author.There is an aesthetic appeal of literature. You can fall in love withliterature, with beautifully written lines, with characters andplots.There is also an entire political reading attached with literature.Literature deals with caste, gender, class, nation, community,religion etc.You can go into any field that deals with thinking or writing justlike Journalism or Media.

As literature straddles with a lot of other disciplines like History, Sociology, Philosophy, anEnglish graduate is in a way prepared to take up any of these fields.

HUMANITIES &

SOCIAL SCIENCES







INDIAN LANGUAGES

HISTORY

Dr. Kanchan VermaAssistant Professor,

Lady Shri Ram College for Women

“Many people think Hindi is a language of drivers andservant maids, but Hindi is a native language of the countryand is widely spoken and therefore people should haverespect to their mother language and should show interestin pursuing them”Literature gives us the path to develop creative thoughts onthe different day to day activities.Language is needed to understand all other courses includingPsychology, Sociology, Political Science ad all others.Literature gives us the sense behind the stories, way ofreading, reflection of society etc.Hindi and other Indian languages are not in a very goodcondition as on the day.

Still a lot of people are developing in the field of Indian languages as translators, lyricists,story writers, actors, theatre persons etc.

Dr. Salil MisraProfessor of History

Ambedkar University Delhi

BA (H) History includes a detailed understanding of GlobalHistory & Indian History, and also thematic courses includeRevolutions, Racism, Modernity, etc. and What is the Historyof History?“People go back to History to find a blueprint of an idealsocial order.”“Economic growth cannot exist without cognitive growth,which includes making sense of the world and society welive in.”All of us have thoughts, but making them intelligible is afundamental need of any society and this is gained from acourse in Social Science – training in systematic structuredthinking, reading and writing enables you to become SocialScientists.Based on the skills learned at the undergraduate level, onecan go for Civil Services, Teaching, Research, NGOs,Development Sector, Media and many other fields.

HUMANITIES &

SOCIAL SCIENCES







ECONOMICS

SOCIOLOGY

Ms. Sanjana KadyanResearch Scholar - Applied

Econometrics, Centre of Economic Studies & Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru

University

“Economics is about making choices, about how peoplebehave and why they behave in the way they do.”Social Science makes you see through things & not just look atthings.“Parents, Do not make your child chose Economics, becauseeveryone wants to chose economics.”A lot of economics courses are tool based courses which areused in translating something which is happening into theory bytesting it.The courses in BA (H) in Economics develop your ability todebate, question and creatively express your view point.The biggest challenge for students in economics is that itrequires extensive reading.

Many avenues are open for a BA (H) economics graduate like private sector, Banks, Finance& Investment firms, Investment Banking, Consultancy Firms, Business Journals,Newspapers, Policy Think tanks, Research organizations etc.Students can switch to Civil Services, Bank POs, Law, Indian Economic Services, RBI, MBA.

Ms. Vandana MadanAssociate Professor, Sociology Janki Devi Memorial College

Humanities and Social Sciences are very critical tounderstand as to where you are going to go from here.Adding to the P's stated by Mr. Rajiv Chandran, threemore P's need to be taken care of while choosing acourse; Peer Pressure, Parental Support and Padosi“Learn to make choices for yourself because thatchoice is going to be with you for life, not withothers.”“The best thing sociology does is that it teaches tothink out of the box. While doing sociology, all thosestructures which you have heard, seen, watched,read, listened are going to be questioned.”Sociology is about questioning stereotype, prejudices,and hierarchies.

In India, we study Socio-Anthropology, which is study of man in society. So becareful while applying for sociology abroad, as there you would be doing puresociology like development studies, Urban studies, Industrial studies etc.After BA (H) in Sociology, one can go for PhD, teaching, UPSC, Social Welfare sectorof Banking, Journalism, Theatre, Law etc.

HUMANITIES &

SOCIAL SCIENCES







PSYCHOLOGY

POLITICAL SCIENCE

Dr. Rachana JohriAssociate Professor,

PsychologyAmbedkar University Delhi

Psychology teaches (in a broad sense) what a human being isand how to interact with human beings.“There is virtually no area in the world of jobs, unless you arereally working with machines or only working with numbers,where psychological training doesn't come in use.”Psychology as a discipline is extremely confused about whatthe nature of the human being actually is and how we can bestunderstand it.Psychological approach is broadly of two types: Quantitative,which tries to generalize human mind through relations andlaws, and Qualitative, which considers that nothing like anideal or general human mind exists as everyone is influencedby others. Most colleges teach some parts of both theapproaches at the undergraduate level.

If one goes into the organizational and behavioral sector as a career, then a lot of highpaying jobs can be taken up. While other stream could be involvement with social sectorthrough NGO and others, which may be lower on pay but is surely high on satisfaction.

Ms. Ambar AhmadAssistant Professor,

Political ScienceKamala Nehru College

Traditionally, Political Science has been understood as the studyof state, Government, political institutions and politicalprocesses. However the stream has evolved and today, any areathat involves the distribution of power and resources comesunder Political Science.It is not an easy course which can be taken up while preparingfor competitive exams. It requires extensive reading, fullcommitment and complete mental focus.It teaches one to interrogate the seemingly obvious and to thinkcritically and analytically.After BA (H) in Political Science, one can go for civil services,Law, Journalism, Academia, Writing for publishing Houses etc.“Studying Political Science doesn't make you the next PM ofIndia but it surely equips you to understand what PM of Indiais doing “

HUMANITIES &

SOCIAL SCIENCES







MentorYes connects Students & Young Professionals

to the Right Mentors

for guidance on Academics, Admissions, Careers & more

[email protected]

011 39 588 588

WRAPPING UP…

Follow your passion, follow your heart, do what you feel is right. Some people might aspire formoney, some for social work, some for understanding the world for how it works. So do what youfeel is right.Choose a course which you feel you would do well at the Bachelors level, and if need be you canalways change stream later. Do not fear change.The college doesn't matter beyond a point. What is important is the course that you take. Thecollege is for three years, the course is what stays with you for life.Look at where you want to be in future while choosing a course and take an informed choice.It is very important to speak to as many people as possible before making a decision. Always lookfor good mentors who can help you make an informed decision for now and ever after.




Report - MentorYes Seminar on Undergraduate Opportunities

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