Thursday 25 January, 2007

Why GEC, Bartonhill???

Well let's have something interesting going on in here! If we are to publish an article in the papers regarding the achievements of GECB in the past 7 years, what all will we publish?? Since this is NOT a newspaper article and is not intended to be just an advertisement. Something that shows both the positives AND the negatives, unlike the major chunk of FACTUAL reports we see in the papers after the entrance tests calling our attention to all kinds of infrastructural details and about the profile of the various faculty members.

What i am trying here is to have a realistic picture of what's life @ GECB, What it means to be one, what all can you look forward to if you join this institution, what are the setbacks that you may suffer if you join and so on. I shall try to put in some details about what all i have felt here and if you feel that it's not sufficient enough, you are always welcome to have a comment or even a new post if you feel that would do justice to such a topic!

So here it goes.

The Pros of GECB and of being a GECian:

  1. Well obviously the 1st and foremost factor that favours GEC over other colleges is the placements that happen here. Not that it’s comparable to that of CET, but then comparing an institution like CET along with us is not being just. I mean CET is a institution with a class of its own. It’s more than 60 years old. THAT itself is a testament to how great it is. Regarding the placements: We have a good reputation among the companies that visit the campus, or rather the students have a good reputation. This is the only area where I feel that the LACK of infrastructure is a major strength of ours. Since the 1st thing that the recruiters see here are a set of tile-roofed buildings that in no way are good for a ENGINEERING college. But when they find the quality of students who happen to study here, they are awed. I have had the chance of talking to a few people who come here representing the best of IT companies of India, and all have the same opinion – compared to the infrastructure (or rather lack of it) we have, we produce good quality engineers.

  1. This feature is actually the result of the next factor favouring us: A knowledgeable and dynamic team of faculty members who constantly try to improve our knowledge in the constrains of this small college. Am not qualified to comment on the quality of faculty that we have in the departments of IT or EC, but since I have seen a good number of faculty members of CET from the times that I spent in the Mech engg labs @ CET, I can say that our faculty members are on par those of CET, if not higher than them. This again is a debateable topic since we don’t have a strict platform for evaluating the profile’s of the faculty. But even from their degree’s they are too good for a college like ours!

  2. The next factor that’s in favour is the LOCATION. All might be wondering what I am talking about. But it’s true that a college that’s within the city limits has a lot of advantages when compared to other colleges which have acres of land, but are in areas that are not easy to reach. This is a major factor which a student SHOULD take into consideration. This not only means that we spend less time and money on travel, but the fact is that we can reach any cinema theatre in the city within 15-20 mins in a bike or auto from GECB. I don’t think any other engineering college in the city offer’s such a facility!

  1. Coming to the atmosphere @ GEC, well it’s always calm except for the occasional barking dog or the wind rustling through the woods of IMG hostel upstairs! We can claim that ours is the most peaceful campus in the state, since it hasn’t seen a single fight over any kind of issue except some rare occurrences. This is a point that can come as a positive for some, and for some others this can be a negative point too!

  1. Another important point can be the bond that the students share in this college. I have been to numerous colleges and believe me, there are very few colleges which have so less number of students and this is the reason why we see that the students, irrespective of their branches and semester have a good rapport amongst each other and this is a good thing for a campus.

I think these are the major positives of GECB.

Now looking at the negatives:

  1. Most important flaw in GECB is the lack of infrastructure. We don’t even have the basic buildings for classrooms, our labs (the one’s we HAVE) are congested and don’t have the required ventilation and it really is a major area of concern. Each time the AICTE team comes to the college, they point this as the biggest problem. They are happy with our students and faculty, but unhappy with the way the students are being taught in small classrooms and even smaller labs.

  1. The college website SUXX bigtime, it looks as if the designer wanted to have this put up as an entry for the WORST website’s category. The site instead of giving a rosy picture, actually degrades the college’s image and if theirs anyone who knows a thing or two about hacking please do something!

  1. The office staff! If anyone’s gone there for getting a paper signed or for anything else they will agree when I say that they are worst bunch of people to man a engineering college office! This also includes some NICE people in the workshop and the CAD lab too!

  1. The dog’s and cows roaming around in the campus! They may give the idea of a environmentally conscious institute, but that all can come later. 1st we need a campus for the students, not one with dog’s roaming around as if they OWN the place.

  1. The lack of a proper canteen. I know it serves food at reasonable rates. But what about snacks and drinks?? If anyone’s gone to some other college’s you can see the kind of hygiene that the cooks and the other staff over their have. It’s better if I don’t mention about that here!

  1. Lack of a proper place to hang around. This may not be fulfilled even when we have our building up and running since our campus is too small. But then I have felt the need of a place to just sit and talk at many times. All we have is the small counter near the cooler (now that’s another area of concern), a few steps near the EC labs and the ground with a set of stairs elevating us to the heavens.

I think these are the main reasons for the fame and glory of GECB, pour your remarks and comments if you feel I haven’t done justice to the title!

7 comments:

athul v dev said...

a nice post to start with..
keep bloging...

Mr. Commonsensical said...

If I were to post such a blog, probably would state the same advantages and disadvantages. Good post, buddy.

But isn't 15-20 mins an exaggeration? I remember reaching New theatre in under 7 minutes on my 2 wheeler, more than once.

The best advantage of our college, I feel, is about it being so small. You and I, different branches though we are, are more than just batch-mates, thanks to the figure 180 (students in our batch alone). Compare that with 400+ of CET.

And the worst disadvantage, everyone would agree, "infrastucture."

Anonymous said...

gud post man...bravo !
uve shown GECB the way it is...

Abinav said...

Yes abhi u have done enuf justice to the title. Our biggest concern is the campus and infrastructure. Infrastructure can be improved as time moves on.. May b in 2015 GEC will have everythng they want. But the prob is the space we have. Cant do anything abt it. Will have to be with that. But I guess u have covered the max poss. And what adds more fame and glory to the coll is the wonderful bonding that students share with the faculty. I saw 3 other colleges under KU thats cet, sct and tkm ,,all these colleges had only 0.1% if not much less than that when compared to our coll when it comes to the relationship with faculty. Given under ALL constraints our coll is doing the best job possible in town.. Good post dude.. keep it up.

Hari said...

Hey Abhii.. I think you have really done justice to the title! Hoo.. How the various college portray themselves after the Entrance Exams.. Hilarious , That they have a water fountain and so on!
Comparing with CET is the worst thing that has been happening to our college and Not just as you point it out! Placementsa At our College have been a show-stealer nad Kudos to all those behind it! I havent been to other colleges, So i can't Compare the Quality of Staff,But there is a Good bunch of Top-Draw Faculty @ GEC. Location is something that we can feel good about. An Engineering College in the heart of the city! The calm atmosphere is a plus and so too the wondeful rapport the students@ GEC share irrespective of the branch and the semester.
And the negative as u rightyl pointed out! Infrastrcuture with a bold I.Being a Government college,And the principal always pointing out that they are running short of funds and all such stuff we can't really help it! And for the website ,The link of our College can replace the Website of the college and this will do a World of good to the college!! Office staff!!! Hoooo.. It'll be better if we dont mention anything about that here. And Canteen has to really improve,not in the quality of food ,But in the way it is and the way it is run as Pointed out by Abhi!
The college is doing real good work even though it has so much constraints as Abhi points out! Anywaay Abhi.. Real Good post and Keep up the Good work!

Deepak said...

Why is it not "just" to compare GECB with CET?

May be the only place where GECB cannot match CET is in its age, and old age has its cons along with the pros.

So, let me compare the rising star with the veteran master. I'll just list down the comparisons that come to my mind. The goodness and badness of it is left for the reader to decide.

(What I can compare is CET of 1998-2002 with GECB of 2005-till date. And all the comparisons are just my perceptions)

* Inter-branch, inter-semester and student-faculty rapport here are much better.

* No hostel here, and hence the campus sleeps after office hours.

* The number of co-curricular events organized here is very small. And hence the number of students who are exposed to handling responsibilities is also small.

* Number of class hours per semester is much higher here. (I emphasize, the goodness or badness is for the reader to decide.)

* People here learn the syllabus more than the subject.

* Sensitivity for the larger society and its issues is lesser here. (Read as no protest marches, no poster campaigns etc)

* The number (and probably the ratio) of people aiming high is lesser here.

Personally, I see much more potential for GECB than CET in the longer future. The faculty at both places are chosen from the same pool. The infrastructure will come, it is only a matter of time. The website will change.

The location, as Abhi points out, is a big plus here. Once we have a big auditorium and good number of students to volunteer, organizing technical and non-technical activities in the campus will become easy. And that will add to the name. The location also makes it suitable place to start part-time batches. It means the library and the labs will be open for double the time.

What can the students do to help GECB realize its potential sooner? (Again my perception)

* Aim high.

* Study the subjects for the curiosity
of it.

* Organize more activities in the campus, including inter-collegiate events.

* Be more responsive to the larger society.

The success of an educational institution depends on the success of its students.

Abhi said...

Very good to see that people read the post even after a month of it being published!

Spl Thanks to Deepak sir for pointing out our areas to be improved! Even though we have a short span of time left before we pass out, we shall do our best to get a good name for GECB in the society!

 
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