Distance “LEARNING” !
I am posting a picture which I found in Facebook a month or two back, taken in a hostel room of the University of Engineering & Management (UEM), Jaipur, posted by my dear student Satyaki Majumder.
The Joint Entrance examination has been declared and results will be out soon too, and this is the time, students are trying to get through different colleges, choosing amongst the different options etc. One thing, that I notice amongst students and specifically the guardians at this time, is trying to find out a college which will be easier to access, easier to reach, near to home etc.
One question that I have for the students is “Is your target in life to stay and work at a place which is nearer to your home? Or, is it to reach the topmost possible position and to earn the highest possible income, to serve your family in the best possible way?”
I don’t want to overlook the different responsibilities or requirements different individuals might have, nor do I say, what my outlook is, is the correct one. But according to me, on the contrary of studying near to your home, target of an individual specially the Engineering Aspirants, should be to stay in hostel and pursue Engineering studies.The professional engineering arena demands team work which stands on the factors like sharing and caring. Hostel life teaches him/ her to share his/her room, belongings, liking, even habits with his/her roommate which in turn concludes with the phenomenon of caring for the fellow roommate . In short, he/she learns “adjustment”.
That makes an individual self-dependent and a much more responsible human being. You learn to take care of yourself, you learn teamwork, you learn to stay back in laboratories after college hours – a must for research work, you learn research methodologies, you learn to develop Engineering skills and most importantly you learn to share and care and be a better human being.
That’s why, in older days, staying in hostel was a mandatory thing for Engineering studies.
The picture that I have posted is reflective of the share and care between the students, their growing up together, studying together, watching sports together, playing together, making him/her an individual who knows to take care of himself/herself and knows how to adjust in life and get the best out of it.Hostel life reduces the daily time killing communication problem which provides him/her that extra time to study and what I have seen in my students of UEM Jaipur. Engineering also demands product development, I have seen my students working in their laboratory, even in midnight, not once, but nights after nights, developing products without the fuss of the outside world.
I apologize for making general comments to those who disagree with me, but believe me, at least in my teaching career, I have seen better engineers and better persons blooming out of hostel life…… I request specially to the guardians, more specifically to the mothers to always reconsider their decision of making their ward stay nearby, and to start thinking of a hostel life Engineering study for your ward. Believe me, they will better learn how to take care of you, when you grow older.
Thanks,
Prof. Dr. Biswajoy Chatterjee,
Vice-Chancellor,
University of Engineering & Management (UEM)