Q) Due to COVID this ongoing semester i.e. 1st sem of 2020 is going to be an online semester. How are you planning a successful implementation of the orientation for UG and PG newcomers?
The orientation of PG students was done through various online conferencing platforms from 22 to 24th of September. These were conducted department-wise and in the supervision of respective incoming conveners of each department where the students came to know about the courses, general activities, professors. Also, they were added to the WhatsApp groups made by conveners where their problems can be solved immediately and via devised mechanisms.
A similar procedure is expected for the UG students as well. An online version of the tour of stalls is going to be there where each club under CAIC is asked to prepare a short video and it would be showcased to students during orientation and on various other social media platforms.
The mentorship program will be carried forward as usual by BSW. We have also had a talk with Shantanu Roy Sir and Sangeeta Kohli Ma’am
Q) Due to lack of proper communication between students and administration, a lot of nuisance has been faced recently. What new steps we can expect from you to rectify this issue?
About bridging the gap between students and administration, there is a minor glitch in the process that we would be solving this year as all the academic decisions are taken by the Dean of Academics who is the president of CAIC. Most of the students approach SAC for their concerns and issues and the president of SAC is Dean of Student Welfare. And that's the problem, grievances are addressed to SAC rather than CAIC that's because CAIC lacks a proper structure as of now of receiving processing and solving of the related issues. During the campaign, we highlighted this issue and we are working to solve this issue soon.
Therefore, a new structure has been proposed to the Deans and they are okay with the new structure though it would take some time in implementation since as of now CAIC has a Gsecy only.
A new grievance portal is being constructed in the collaboration with SAC and CAIC.
And the issues would be now be resolved at a student-level so that the things aren’t missed out.
Q) The CAIC holds many clubs under it, some of which (like iGem) have been inactive for a while. When can we expect it to be active again?
This was one of the main agendas while campaigning, I have planned a hierarchy structure for resolving this for keeping all the coordinators and conveners be accountable for their works with respect to the various events that take place around the academic year. A calendar shall be maintained for each club and their events that will be organized by them. Also, all the clubs would be integrated with the CAIC mechanism so that there is a little hold on their functioning
Each society would be evaluated in the end on how many events they promised and how many were actually conducted.
Regarding iGEM, it's more of an issue with the professor so once it gets settled it would come up again in full force.
Q) Many freshmen face a lot of confusion while pre-registering for courses for the third sem as they are unfamiliar with the system. They have to depend on seniors for that. How do you plan to solve the issue?
People were not able to pick up the MSL so I had a talk with Dean Academics and we were able to solve the issue finally. Once the grievances portal is ready and the structure gets improved we feel these problems won't exist anymore. The MTech students have a 2 Year program and after 3 semesters they have their placements. In the first year there are quite a few electives available for them and also we are planning to add a few more for them which would help them for their job preparations.
As for the UG students, nucleus committees are being constructed to resolve their issues and bring their problems in notice with the authorities.
Q) You have written that an online version of tryst would be conducted. What all events can we expect in it? How will the plan change if the college opens by then?
This tryst is currently being planned as an online one as of now. We would be conducting webinars related to the particular club or division. The webinar will be conducted in the presence of some famous personality or a known person related to that field. So in that way, we could make this tryst as a benchmark for the upcoming online events occurring on such a huge level.
If the college reopens by then the things would be carried forward as they used to earlier but this time with a little increase in the security. Also, the planning for the events is being carried on while in collaboration with other IITs as well, so soon there would be clearer information regarding all the events and things we might look forward to this tryst.
Remarks:
Kartikey is quite determined to not let the virtual semester steal away the demeanour that CAIC holds and provides. His manifesto is full of new ideas and initiatives, most of which look quite achievable.
Tryst, being the biggest Tech fest of North India, bears a lot of expectations to its name. It would be interesting to see how Kartikey plans out the virtual Tryst to live up to the offline standards.
Maintaining an event calendar for the clubs that CAIC holds is a commendable move for increasing participation and interest of students in the clubs.
The CAIC portal is a good project, but whether it serves the right purpose or not would be interesting to know.
Link to Manifesto:
Interview by Satyakam Singhal
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