Know Your Engineering Self

Over the last six semester each one of you have been exposed to over a dozen of core computer courses such as programming, algorithms, data structure to name the few. Undergoing these courses might have produced different feelings in each one of you. Some one might have liked programming and other might have been fascinated by data structure. Same can be said about all other courses. Although all course are essential and important, they are not equally appealing all. Last year, a passed out student asked me to suggest a career that has no "programming" in it". While I appreciated the student's frankness in acknowledging her disliking to programing, it also revealed an essential fact that not all computer science course are every one's cup of tea. Sooner one finds his cup of tea -i.e course to which he has aptitude, the better position he is in to go ahead in career. So the point is some may like algorithm so much so that they can find a project that involves a design and analysis of a new algorithms.

But one thing is true of every student: you have imbibed those computer courses to different degrees, varying levels and appreciate them in different ways. The sum total of impact created by these courses on you is your engineering self.

This engineering self must be the basis of your project work decision. It must be the starting point. It must be used as " foundation" to build up your project idea and even your career domain. The project work should be used to transform your engineering self into effective professional self.

Final year project work: The Purpose

The overall purpose of an engineering project work is very clear.

• A chance to compose a task to make use of all you have learnt in the previous years in some meaningful way to produce something useful. For instance you may come out with a project idea that uses the knowledge and skills that you have learnt in the data structure, algorithms and DBMS courses. Or it may use your knowledge of compiler design or networking theory or protocol. The list "ideally" includes all courses that you have undergone in the previous semesters.
• Well , if all that project work uses or demands is your previous learning, then it would not be interesting at all if not thrilling. All the exams of previous semesters must have already tested your skills in those subjects. So what is more a project is expected in a project work is the additional learning it prescribes in order to complete the project successfully. For instance you might have learnt some network protocols, but implementing them in a project needs further learning on it actually behaves in real-world situations. Another example is that your project may be implemented using Java and but implementing certain features make you learn AJAX or such similar tool.
• But most important objective of a project work is that it provides a chance to test your engineering self. (more on this in next post)

Of Final year project

Final year engineering students everywhere are preoccupied with project works and they are right in being so. Project work represent an entirely different ball game compared to all kinds of work they have done in the previous 3 years or 6 semesters. Project work is totally new to them and is a clean slate to begin from. It is unstructured, open-ended and a blank canvas. Earlier they have been used to theory and lab courses. Theory courses came with a predefined syllabus and prescribed text book(s). Lab works are described as "term works" to be done in the lab. Compared to them project work is a completely strange proposal. Even the strategies they had adopted to meet the challenges of theory courses and lab works - namely choosing chapters for study or testing luck with selected term works may not be helpful here. What is more important to note that, each student handled this task- preparing for theory and lab exams in his/her own way. It was a common goal (successful completion of theory and lab course) and a personal approach or strategy. On the contrary project work demands the determination of common goal and group approach.

Over the last few days, I have seen students coming together to form batches, explore domains to choose project from and criteria to choose a project and determine its worthiness. In the following blogs, I shall be presenting my ideas on how to go about project work.

Final Year Project Work: Seeking senior's input

As you all know it too well project work in the final year represents one of the most important and also a difficult task for most students. Unlike the theory and lab courses in the previous semesters, project work is altogether is a different ball game. Since senior students had once faced this challenge, and " had been there and seen that" experience, they can share it with current students. In particular you may help them in

• Knowing all the project options open to them
• Criteria to choose a project
• which project is good one: application/implementation(protocol/algorithm)
• Which domain: networking, databases
• Which way to go: Open source/proprietary

Kindly provide u r inputs as comments this blog

Active Directory: Information & details sought

One of the current batch students are doing a project that involves ACTIVE DIRECTORY component. In case u know any information about it, its applications, advantages, references, Kindly add them as comments here