A HONEST ALTERNATIVE / SUBSTITUTE FOR THE CURRENT

A HONEST ALTERNATIVE / SUBSTITUTE FOR THE CURRENT
COLLEGE FINAL YEAR STUDENT’S PROJECT WORK SYSTEM

Merits of the present system
In many streams of higher education (Arts, Science, Commerce, Engineering, Technology, Law, Management, Medical and para-medical etc.) at different levels (Diploma, Degree, Post-Graduation), the final year students project works are considered as the ideal vehicles to carry forward the artistic / scientific / engineering / Technical/Management concepts, hypothesizes and ideas of the young students into real life practical world.

True, they are a viable, affordable, easy but excellent medium to express the students’ creativity. They are the optimum interfaces between the dreamy world of academic activities and the competitive world of pragmatic technical implementations.

There are many exemplary project works illustrating the untapped, under utilized and often unappreciated capacity of the fertile minds. Some are recognized with honours, handsome cash rewards, popular awards and ready industrial/commercial acceptance too. A few are path breaking and received well deserved patents also.

By any yard stick, these project works are invariably helping the willing students (with the thirst for learning and experimentation) to hone their skills in team forming, networking, coordinating, cooperating, compromising, adjusting, wordsmithing, report writing etc. to the extent they are equipped.

On the other side of the academic spectrum also, the project work system provides a healthy and refreshing intellectual challenge to the innovative teachers who are ready to range beyond the beaten tracks of syllabus oriented teaching and learning process.

Both the students and the staff can very well happily apply their academic knowledge to the real life problems with a sense of purpose, fun and joy. They have nothing to loose and every thing to gain, even if only one of their ideas/initiatives works out well. By chance, if nothing works out as per their plan, then also they have gained, because they have learnt a lot from their failures.
Then, what is the need for and the rationale behind the proposed honest alternative/substitute?

The disease within
Having said all this and more, we must admit rather sadly, the actual number of projects which will come under the above category is a clear minority. The vast majority of the college final year projects are churned out/bought off from the so called project training centers, computer centers and study centers, which are mushrooming every year in all the cities, towns and villages too. It is an ancillary industry for the rapidly expanding education business sector. If one choose to read a project work, even on a cursory glance, the courageous reader is very likely to encounter numerous mistakes in terms of spellings, grammar, syntax, right from the title, synopsis, abstract to the conclusion and the findings. Even in the acknowledgment page more often than not, numerous mistakes are frequently found and they come up with a hefty price tag, (literally in monetary terms) in the guise of training, guiding, hands on experience and enormous time wasted in those shady joints, where young students are hanging out without any supervision. It gives them a ready excuse for avoiding classes. And the parents are also watching the happenings helplessly, without much choice at their disposal.

Why the students are opting for this expensive, humiliating and dishonest procedure?

Because, the plain fact is, a good number of our students, even as groups are ill-equipped to identify, conceive, discuss, deliberate, execute and write an independent project report. Their vocabulary & word processing skills, sentence forming capability and proof reading expertise are poor. Simply put, it is beyond their intellectual capacity. Most of the staff members are also having the same handicap, as they themselves are the products of the very same existing system. Therefore, often they conveniently resort to outsourcing the project reports from the market, where the cost of these project reports are becoming less and less as the market is expanding rapidly. The only connection / relationship between the students and the project works is that they have paid for the project report in cash or, in worst cases, in kind.
About the contents of many of the bought out projects, it is better not to speak about it. They are, in general, pirated, shop lifted, wantonly copied, perjuriously produced, plagiarized works of somebody’s initiative.

One may very well argue that the basic purpose of the project work system is to help the students to acquire the very skills which they are not possessing at present. Alas, it is a very tall order to be achieved in a short time. (All people can eat, walk and talk. But it is not realistic to expect every one to cook wonderfully, sing melodiously, dance gracefully and act playfully). At best they learn to become street smart in dishonest plagiarism only. In putting the matter straightly in other words, we are forcing the students to become corrupt and dishonest in this project work system.

To sum up, it is, at best a mockery of the academic exercise and at worst a tragedy-cum-intellectual dishonesty. But still, if we look at from the academically ill equipped student’s point of view, it is a cruelty inflicted upon the young mind. Likewise, the harassed, overloaded and helpless faculty perceives it as an avoidable punishment to be endured which is thrust upon them year after year after year.

Stating the contours of this perennial problem is not very difficult but evolving an acceptable, efficient, purposeful and workable alternative needs a consultative, accommodative, practical approach among the academicians, students and other stake holders.

Modifications suggested to the present Project Work System
Let all of us be very clear that the current system of the project work be very well continued for the willing capable students and their interested faculty guides in the present format. The following modifications to improve the present system may kindly be considered depending on the circumstances prevailing at the individual institutions.

Number of students per batch should be flexible.
Practicing Experts should be invited to participate in the Project Works in terms of time, kind or cash.
Hands on / on site / in process analysis project works should be encouraged.
As a warm-up exercise, to begin with, a part of the pre-final year vacation should be devoted for the viable project identification. (By this time, the most of the students acquire some basic knowledge of the subjects of his educational programme). A few titles should be submitted to the potential guide / or head of the department at the commencement of the pre-final semester. With the selected guide’s concurrence, one definite and final title should be fine tuned. An abstract with action plans should be sent to the Project Monitoring Committee appointed by the examination authorities (Directorate’s of respective disciplines of education, Board of Studies, Universities, Professional Bodies/Societies etc.) for their approval. During the pre-final semester, sufficient time should be allocated to do the basic ground work, literature survey etc., for the project field work.

Follow up field work should be done during the pre-final semester vacation. During the final semester, sufficient time should be allocated to complete the project work atleast one month before the viva-voce. A copy of the project report must be sent to the examination authorities and another copy to the External Examiner atleast two weeks in advance of the viva-voce. For wider dissemination, by taking advantage of the spread of information technology, we may even publish it in the examination authorities web-sites. It will help us in reducing if not eliminating the rampant plagiarism which is shamelessly happening now almost everywhere.


What is the proposed honest alternative to the present project work system?

We propose an alternative by way of faithful and actual recording of a diary / journal / file of observation of whatever happening around him by the student during the industrial visit / in plant training / trade fair visits / internships, etc. The place of visit may be any thing where some relevant activity is going on with reference to the main study programme of the student. (Even if it is an internship with a celebrity/businessman/scientist/technologist it is alright). As long as she/he has something to observe and record, it will result in real learning.

How it can be implemented?

Let the observation record be a hand written work done on the field by the students individually. If it is bi-lingual (mother tongue as well as Medium of Instruction), it is all the more better. No need to insist on grammatical accuracy of the sentences, so that the student can write without hesitation and express what he/she observes truthfully.

We can programme our students to spend a predetermined minimum number of days at chosen organizations to record their observations in a prescribed format on allocated dates. This format which is enclosed herewith may not fit all, therefore, it can be modified / changed / adopted as per the requirements of the individuals, institutions and organizations.

It will improve the functional orientation of the students. It will keep them observant about what is currently happening in the real world. Above all, it is relevant to the ground realities in the field practical work. Therefore, what the student is observing, he/she is documenting easily and faithfully in the predetermined format with ample possibilities to record the special items if any in whatever format the student chooses.

As he/she need not lie, one can hopefully and positively expect honesty and truth.



R.DHANASEKAR
Senior Lecturer & HOD i/c
SSM ITT & Polytechnic College
Komarapalayam-638183

Suggested format for recording the observations during in-plant Training / Industrial Visit / Internship





Photograph of the studentName of the student :
Year and branch of study :
Register Number of the student :
Name and address of the Institution :
Staff Advisor’s name and designation:
Address of the student :



S.No.
Questionnaire
Data
1.
Name and address of the organisation / work site / event:

2.
Day & Date of visit

3.
Time in:

4.
Time out:

5.
Name of the person(s) with whom the student interacted:

6.
Designation

7.
Product / Service / Activities

8.
Capacity of the plant

9.
Machinery description


Number of machines


Type of machine


Machinery manufacturer address.


Cost of purchase


Date / Year of purchase


Manpower required to operate the machine


Whether specific skills required to operate


Noise, vibration etc.


Whether the student has studied about the machine during his study.


Whether, it is included in the forthcoming study period.


How many machines are idle?
How long?
Why?


10.
Man power details

11.
Energy consumption details


Financial details


Investment

Operational Expenditure

Manpower Cost

Profit / Loss

16.
Layout of the work place / Shop Floor

17.
Work flow diagram

18.
Details regarding Safety and security


Emergency exits, Number and place of fire extinguishers, alarm bells etc.

19.
Facts about Pollution Control & Ecology Conservation


How the waste is disposed off, when, where and why?

20.
Standard certifications:
ISO 9000
ISO 14000
SA 8000
OHSA 18000
ISO-27000
Any other

21.
Awards / Prizes Won

22.
Physical location of the site in a map

23.
Photographs of the student’s visit to the industry

24.
Information leaflets from the organization


25.
During the period of stay of the student in the organization, is there any specific, noteworthy event happened.

26.
What she/he likes in the organization most?

27.
What she/he does not like in the organization most?

28.
What she/he wants to change immediately?

29.
What she/he feels to change gradually?

30.
What his/her ideas to improve the atmosphere prevailing in that organization?

31.
What facilities he/she feels to be done?

32.
In which area, he/she feels to take up some improvement / development activity utilizing his institute’s knowledge, skills and expertise.

33.
The opinion about the student by the organization people with whom the student interacted during his stay in the organization.

34.
Any other details.


Note
1. If possible & feasible problem identification, diagnosis and solution can be considered even at the micro levels.
2. Faculty may also visit the organization for better institute industry interaction.