History of Computer Science Discipline in Christ University

 (Article written for Anil Pinto Sir's Assignment during Ph.D coursework March 2015)
External Link: http://anilpinto.blogspot.in/2015/03/history-of-computer-science-discipline.html

 Computer Science discipline has changed at a very rapid rate. To get an idea the Apollo Mission to moon had a RAM capacity of just 4 KiloBytes and today in India we have mobile phones with 2 GigaBytes of RAM. Today computer science and technology has transformed almost all aspects of human life. From the early time sharing machines in the 70’s to the PC’s of the 80’s and distributed cloud servers of the 21^st century,  the computer lab has seen changes in leaps and bounds. We become archaic in 3 years and obsolete in 5.  Computer’s control transcends from the vegetable to the share markets, from birth in a hospital to claiming life insurance. Whether to make friends, for entertainment or travel, technology is touching our lives in ways we never even imagined in our wildest dreams.

How does the discipline in universities keep pace?

Before we get bogged by the immenseness of our task let us take a step back and see what makes a good IT Professional. What traits and skills a successful computer science graduate possess?

Personal Traits	Technical Traits
Ability to take Decision Accepts Change Accepts Direction Accepts Responsibility Time Management Attitude Cooperation & Team Player Effective Under Stress Initiative Leadership Planning and Organizing Quality of Work Quantity of Acceptable Work Growth & Learning Innovation Presentation Skill	Core Concepts (35%) Programming Language Database Design Operating System Computer Architecture Computer Network Data Structures Technical Skills (30%) Designing Database Analyzing Requirements Project Estimation Code Understanding Debugging Thinking/Problem Solving Explore New Tools	Application Software(20%) RDBMS (like Oracle) Web Based Software High End Languages(like C#) (…) Domain Expertise (10%) Customer Interaction Requirement Gathering Emerging Areas (5%) Cloud Computing Data Mining AI Android App Dev (…)

The table above I have listed out is not based on a literature survey but purely based on my Industry Experience and hence may not be very exhaustive.

How has the discipline evolved over time?

Course Started in Christ University related to Computer Science Discipline:

·         1990: CMS (Computer Science, Maths, Statistics)
·         1994: MCA
·         1996: CME (Computer Science, Maths, Electronics)
·         2000: BCA
·         2007: M.Sc. Computer Science
·         2009: M.Sc. (Working Professionals)
·         M.Phil. and Ph.D were added recently

Computers is now taught in B.Com, MBA, Law, Chemistry, Maths, Physics and is spreading its wings and intersects most disciplines.

 Syllabus constantly underwent changes and many courses were added over time.

1990's

o   Software Architecture

o   C/ UNIX/ COBOL

o   OOAD

o   Embedded Systems

2000

o   DBA

o   Data Warehousing and Data Mining

2010

o   Cloud Computing

o   Mobile Application

o   ADBMS

o   NO SQL

 Department has used different strategies to make Teaching and Learning become effective with changing times. Following is a short summary of the last 25 years.

o   1997 Project based learning

o   1997 Started Magazine/ Cultural and Technical Fest to foster innovation, teamwork, all round development and leadership

o   2000 Seminars and Soft Skill Workshops

o   2001 Internship part of Curriculum

o   2005 Domain based lab

o   2009 Research Focus

o   2010 Corporate Connect Programs

o   2012 Online Courses

 Students have been placed consistently each year, though there may have been ups and down in the CTC the corporates have always returned for placement back to Christ University. There have been challenges specially when the recessions occurred in 2001 and 2010, but fortunately did not affect placement at Christ to a great extent. The alumni has been a key source of strength for the department and whether it was for special lectures, syllabus review, conducting sessions or exams the Alumni has been very active. In the last Alumni Meet conducted on January 2015 more than 130 Alumni had come down to the campus.

 Is there a gap between the traits table and the students who pass out from our courses?

The answer is a “yes”, we strive every day to bridge the gap. I as a teacher with 6 years of teaching experience and 12 years of industry experience realize that gap is inevitable.  I take heart that it’s after all our students out there in the real world who are making the technological advances to widen the gap and are also the ones inspiring us to keep dancing to change.

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”  ― Mahatma Gandhi

Why do graduate students in India not retain core technical concepts by the end of the course?

(Article written by Jibrael Jos for an online course on FutureLearn.com)

Students do not retain core technical concepts by the time they reach the final semesters. It has been observed that concepts which were covered in the first three semesters are not recalled by students at the time of placement for a job in the sixth semester.

One of the main reason is that the current exam system encourages rote learning. Questions are mostly of “recall” nature.  Even though some questions outwardly seem as an “application” problem, they are in reality a recall question. These case studies are normally covered in the text book or in class. Students in the semester system study the topics but invariably do not appreciate the core concepts. They move on to next semester without imbibing and understanding them well.

A second important reason is the ineffective learning in primary and secondary school. The salary structure for school teachers do not tend to attract the best talent. The student- teacher ratio is heavily skewed. Most children generally have poor reading writing and comprehension skills. For example some students are not able to extract the key point in the paragraph, some students cannot explain the algorithm after reading the text a couple of times. Students are not able to organize their thoughts in interpretive questions and tend to skip them in case of a choice. By the time they play catch up with the outstanding students in college, two three semester would have gone by.

In good public schools, teaching would be better than government schools but I feel what really makes it click is the fact that parents are spending extra time and money to ensure they ward gets one to one attention if possible. The middle class families in small towns and metros make it a point to pick and drop kids to dance, karate, tuition, sports etc.

Schools are worried about their image and vary of failing students. Government is afraid if students will drop out. The end result is that shoddy assignments are approved and failed exams are absolved and child is pushed to the next class. Tenth board is made as easy as possible, so as to paint a rosy picture. You spoil them for seven years and want a miracle in three years in a graduate program. Sadly colleges also fall in the same trap and when the time to place them in an organization comes we realize there is a serious gap.

Some people wrongly assume that students lack motivation and discipline. They assume the children are addicted to Social Network, friends and parties. Children are the future of the nation, every batch is generally smarter than the previous. Students generally know what is best for them and realize when to put in the extra mile. You give our students any system and they invariably crack it, may it be IIT entrance test, IAS exams or Gate/GMAT Scores. Indians also know how to succeed at workplace and all major of MNC have a healthy percentage of successful Indians in them

Exam System and Ineffective Schooling is the main reason but tuition centers or finishing schools are not the solution for this panacea. Is a change possible? We are seeing a revolution in education here in urban India. There is a lot of focus on curriculum and pedagogic changes. The sixth pay commission has substantially increased teachers’ salaries and is now attracting good talent. How successful we are in motivating the teachers, parents, educators and students today will decide whether in years to come we will be able to take these advances to the remotest parts of the nation. Progress for the top ten percent only can be catastrophic lets unite for a better educated, motivated and skilled India.

In search of God

We all know that God really does not exist in the Church, Temple or Mosque alone, we understand that he is omnipresent, we understand that he exist in right action, we understand that he exist in every pure thought, in every heart, in every mind and in every soul. 

Sometimes when we are in fear, doubt or anxiety we start grasping for straws and we start limiting our limitless God, we build walls, barriers and gates.

Does abstinence help, well I think it does.
     Does the ambiance of a temple help, surely
             Does breathing exercise help meditate better, definitely
But well so does walking, ambiance of a trekking trail 
                           or breathing the fresh air at the mountain top

I have found inspiration in teaching of Christ, Buddha and Bhagwat Gita's different interpretations
        I have enjoyed reading the works of Swami Vivekananda, Saint Augustine, Mahatma Gandhi
But I have also found wisdom in Deepak Chopra, Steven Covey, Richard Bach, Paulo Cuelho and most importantly in the essays of my students in college.
 
I have found inspiration in a massive tree to a simple leaf
       I have found peace in a priest's wise words and in the laughter of a small child
I have found strength in huge mountains and also in my mom

I have searched but cannot claim I have found him
          But I also cannot claim that I have not !!
I have been blessed by grace many a times
          I have found peace and tranquility many times

I never prayed for a miracle and hopefully never will. I pray for strength, I pray for grace, I pray for peace of mind.

I believe in Jesus and find his teachings very sensible but I do not believe Jesus is the only way to heaven, because my God is a mighty God and I do not believe in limiting him. As Swami Vivekananda used to pray

'As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.'

The important thing I feel is:

       We need to take time out to pray, to meditate, to introspect

            We need to take time to serve, help and appreciate others

                We need to take time out to grow physically, intellectually and spiritually

 
Following is a famous verse by Kabir:
(Kabīr (1440 – 1518) was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement.) 

Moko Kahan Dhundhere Bande 
                                  Mein To Tere Paas Mein
Na Teerath Mein, Na Moorat Mein 
                                  Na Ekant Niwas Mein
Na Mandir Mein, Na Masjid Mein 
                                  Na Kabe Kailas Mein
Mein To Tere Paas Mein Bande 
                                  Mein To Tere Paas Mein
Na Mein Jap Mein, Na Mein Tap Mein 
                                  Na Mein Barat Upaas Mein
Na Mein Kiriya Karm Mein Rehta
                                  Nahin Jog Sanyas Mein
Nahin Pran Mein Nahin Pind Mein 
                                  Na Brahmand Akas Mein
Na Mein Prakuti Prawar Gufa Mein 
                                  Nahin Swasan Ki Swans Mein
Khoji Hoye Turat Mil Jaoon 
                                  Ik Pal Ki Talas Mein
Kahet Kabir Suno Bhai Sadho 
                                   Mein To Hun Viswas Mein

(In essence he is not saying God is not there in all these, but rather that God is everywhere (including all these) and most importantly he is inside in each one of us) ... so common lets Google for God

Divorce, What are the chances !!!

Context: Written seven years after incident ... with the vision of hindsight !! :-) 
(Article Draft written by Jibrael Jos for assignment on edx online english course)

Divorce happened to me, embarrassing but true. Love marriage, nice wedding, travel abroad, loving in laws, wonderful kids and boom.... Divorce.

When life does not have wrinkles we create a few, literally crumpling the very fabric of our existence. Then looking up to God and saying “Lord, why me?”

On hindsight I can see the lighter side of a break up. But guys mind you divorce is a more serious thing it leaves a bloody crater and a mushroom cloud so huge that it blocks sun, fresh air and all that is good for days, months and years.

If it happened to me it could happen to anyone. All of you sitting complacently and pointing fingers at me in your mind … think over how close you got. Does a shudder run down your spine …. If not it should. Financial crisis, emotional trauma, societal pressures (“advices”) and most importantly parenting nightmares.

By the time you pick up the broken pieces, world would have taken a couple of spins around the sun. By the time your heart mends, your hair would have turned a shade grey. You think you have grown wiser but chances are you would have been rambling and wandering around like a madman.

Adversity can be a friend, challenges can mold you, ridicule can strengthen you and like a phoenix you could rise from the ashes. Because in darkness when your shadow leaves you, you find grace. You take up life with a zest you did not know existed deep down inside you. You live with a deeper purpose. You cherish what you have and what you don’t. You find yourself, you relate with others and maybe even find God.

I introspect but refuse to live a life of regret. I despair but refuse to wallow in self-pity. I have received love in abundance, I have found respect in plenty, I have found opportunities galore. Like a wise man once said, “I have not got a cross to carry but a guitar”. Which song would you like to hear … A happy one?