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Dear Readers,

The most magnificent obsession in life is the perseverance to overcome odds and change obstacles to stepping stones. The achievement of the ‘Most Environment Friendly Campus’ award exemplifies the indomitable spirit of NIIT University in making a meaningful contribution to the world. We celebrate this accomplishment with happiness and with the determination to continue caring for the environment that has bestowed us with the bounties of nature.

The year began with the launch of the MCA course at NIIT University that is designed to give the indispensable mental stimulus and build agility in the computer professionals of tomorrow. January was a month replete with visits from dignitaries to the University. Experts from India and Germany participated in an engrossing workshop on Computational Commutative Algebra. We became more enlightened in the company of national and international luminaries through quality symposia and conferences that were well represented by faculty members. NU students proved their mettle once again through their active participation in sports, academics and creative endeavours.

January was also the month to rejoice as Indians and all at NU celebrated the Republic day with patriotic fervour. We feature the revelry of Lohri and other events that unfolded in the past month in this newsletter along with the special feature, ‘Make your own prophecy’ for the prospective students.

From this issue we start a new feature, ‘Question Marks’ which gives an opportunity to all quiz wizards to kindle their grey cells.

Wish you an engaging, enriching and enjoyable month (with an extra day this leap year, to enliven your spirits)!

Shradha Kanwar
Editor

2012! A year that is prophesied to be a defining moment in history has finally arrived. This classic year is expected to orient us towards a new destination and has resulted in a lot of awe, expectation and the occasional fear.

SO the never ending debates and discussions on what next? Well, the dilemma of what next can easily be sorted by conquering the quandary of what now. NOW is in our hands- a moment to cherish, believe and act. It is also the perfect time to engineer and manage the NEXT and then que sera sera…

There are two possible ways of handling life, one is to be proactive and the other is reactive. As scholars of today, you must have avid interest in being proactive contributors to the external world and most importantly towards the fulfillment of your academic pursuits, which shall define the future.

Managing time is an important way of leading yourself towards achievement of objectives. For the students in school and especially those in their final year – this is an opportune time- to seize maximum mileage from one’s scholastic acumen and prepare a road map steering one towards the right path. In these critical moments, students sometimes face difficulties in prioritizing tasks and before realization dawns, precious moments seem to have been lost. Simple strategies in managing time can effectively lessen the burden of taking crucial decisions as well as assuage anxiety prone moments. Take a look at some time management guidelines and you will realize how time when managed well is almost like a magical wish come true.

Remember, optimum utilization of time and the right technique in preparation shall lead to effective results so … make your own prophecy in 2012!

NIIT University gets ‘Most Environment Friendly Campus’ award
NIIT University has always believed in instilling appreciation for nature in Young Minds and its continued efforts in creating an eco friendly world were applauded in the India Today Aspire Education Summit 2012. The best of India’s education sector were honoured in the event and the award for the greenest campus went to NIIT University for being the most environment-friendly campus. The award was received by Mr. Vijay Thadani, CEO, NIIT and co-founder of NIIT University, and Dr. Rajeev Shorey, President, NIIT University in a splendid ceremony on January 27.

The event brought together eminent luminaries from the industry and academia and the University’s enterprising initiatives which include protecting the wilderness by adopting a nature preserve, minimizing carbon footprint through Earth Air tunnels, preserving natural resources with water recycling, retaining the natural lay of the land and minimizing fossil fuel consumption through a walk only campus were much appreciated by the stellar audience at the event.

Other awardees at the Summit were IIT Kanpur, IGNOU, ISB-Hyderabad, University of Delhi, IIM-Bangalore, among others.

MCA program launched at NU
NIIT University launched MCA program in the month of January with 29 enterprising computer professionals. This unique three-year (6 semester) program has been specially designed for working professionals, who commit up to six weeks of intensive course-work on campus at the start of each semester. The aim of the program is to enable students to become self-directed learners by being active contributors in the learning process. After the initial on-campus session, the high intensity course is delivered in the online format while expanding the scope of the learning agenda.

Expanding diversity through Biotechnology
The Area of Biotechnology conducted a short term course on “Metagenomics-Dissection of Microbial Diversity” from 19 to – 24 December. The course was an intensive hands-on training program meant to impart technical knowledge and working experience for biotechnologists, microbiologists and life science learners.

Research Talk by Dr. Raja Sengupta
Research Talk by Dr. Raja Sengupta on ‘What’s so spatial about agent-based models?’ on January 20 was an enriching experience for the students at NU. The highlight of Dr. Sengupta’s talk was his research about Spatial patterns of illegal resource extraction, Agent-based simulation of Urban Residential Dynamics and Land Rent Change and Modeling CRP Enrolment using Agents within Spatial Decision Support Systems. Students were captivated by the seamless integration of GIS, Mathematical Modeling and Computer Sciences in his research.

Dean University of Houston, USA visits NU
Prof. William Fitt Gibbson, Dean University of Houston, USA visited the campus on January 30 and was highly appreciative of the rigour at NIIT University. Chair of the University of Houston’s (UH) Department of Mathematics, William Fitzgibbon has taught at universities across the U.S. and in France over the past 30 years. He is a member of the American Mathematical Society, the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Sigma Xi, the Irish Mathematical Society, and the Society for Mathematical Biology. Active in the world of mathematical study, Dr. Fitzgibbon has been published in a wide array of industry journals, and he has held a leadership role in numerous international conferences.
Dr. Fitzgibbon’s areas of study include partial differential equations, integral equations, functional differential equations, applied mathematics and mathematical biology.

Prof. Ravindran Kaliappa captivates students
As part of the distinguished lecture series, Prof. Kaliappa Ravindran, Professor of Computer Science in the Grove School of Engineering at the City University of New York, presented an intense lecture to the students on January 30. The topic of his presentation, Replica Voting for High Assurance Information Systems under Hostile Environments was very motivating to the students in reinstating their research interest. Prof. Kaliappa Ravindran has held faculty positions at the Kansas State University and at the Indian Institute of Science. He has also worked as a Control Systems engineer at the Indian Space Research Organization. He received Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia, Canada and his research interests are in the areas of service-level management of distributed networks, system-level support for information assurance, model-based software integration for embedded systems, distributed collaborative systems, and internet architectures. His recent project relationships with industries include IBM, AT&T, Philips, General Motors, and ITT. Besides industries, some of his research has been supported by grants and contracts from US federal government agencies such as the Air Force Research Laboratory, Naval Research Laboratory, and Space Missile & Defense Command.

Workshop on Computational Commutative Algebra
A workshop on Computational Commutative Algebra was held in the NIIT University from 16 to 28 January. The workshop was made possible by a generous grant from the National Board of Higher Mathematics (NBHM) and the strong local support at NIIT University. This workshop fell under the umbrella of Advanced Training in Mathematics Schools (ATM) which are organized by Prof. J.K. Verma for the NBHM.

The interplay between computation and many areas of algebra is a natural phenomenon in view of the algorithmic character of the latter. The existence of powerful computational resources has enhanced these links and has opened up many new and active areas in algebra. In this Winter School on Computational Commutative Algebra the participants (mostly research scholars and faculty members from all over India) were exposed to one such computational package – SINGULAR, which is a free software for Polynomial Computations with special emphasis on the needs of algebraic geometry, commutative algebra, and singularity theory However, we also saw the power of using a strong programming software named GAP, and using SINGULAR within GAP.

The resource persons were from prestigious institutes such as IIT Mumbai; CMI ( Chennai Mathematical Institute ) Chennai, TIFR ( Tata institute of Fundamental Research )Mumbai and IISc ( Indian Institute of Science ), Bangalore, University of Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Commutative algebra is the basic language in which modern techniques for solving polynomial equations resides. Singularity theory is to understand the nature of whether a curve is smooth (i.e. has a unique tangent at a point) or how bad is the point where it is not smooth. This study is also done for surfaces and higher dimensional varieties.

Prof. Gerhard Pfister, Prof. Andreas Steenpass and Prof. Mohamad Barak – in the design and use of SINGULAR from Kaiserslautern, Germany led by Prof. Gerhard Pfister conducted workshops in the use of advanced algorithms via SINGULAR. Prof. Gerhard Pfister also gave general talks on using SINGULAR, like in coding theory, robotics and the cycloheptane molecure, solving Sudoko problems, specific engineering problems, models for economy, equilibrium model with production, etc. The workshop was a huge success and inspirational to the students and faculty who enjoyed listening to the views of the experts.

What is your Value Proposition?
Mr. Ravi Lai visited the Campus on January 20 and addressed the students of Management on the topic: “What is your Value Proposition? Why should I buy from you?” It was peppered with anecdotes on the hands on selling experience he had in marketing of various products over his career span. The talk was well received and was followed by several questions and answers. Mr. Ravi Lai is Managing Partner , Global Source Solutions in USA, a consultancy. He has been a Senior Business Executive in Corporate America and has also worked for organizations like IBM, Sybase, First National Bank of Atlanta, Merryl Lynch and also Consulted with several Fortune 500 Firms. He was also the CFO and CEO of two Indian IT Companies in the US and helped turn their fortunes to profitability

Currently he is working as an International Consultant in Africa, Indonesia,Philippines, China and India in brokering high value projects that range from Healthcare, Mergers and Acquisitions, Commodities to Sustainable Farming using micro nutrients and Organic technologies.

Talk on Media and how we consume it

Prof. Vidu Soni presented a paper titled “HRM Challenges in Not-for-Profit Sector: How to Identify and Overcome them” at Development Dialogue 2012 held at B.V.B. College of Engineering and Technology in Hubli, Karnataka from January 14-18, 2012. Development Dialogue was an international conference of NGOs and small entrepreneurs who are engaged in development of India in the areas of education, health, agriculture, environment, poverty alleviation, economic growth and human resource development. The Deshpande Center for Social Entrepreneurship in collaboration with The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) organized the conference which was attended by more than 5,000 people from all parts of India and many foreign countries.

Dr. Anuradha Parasar Chaired the session III of RC 23 on Sociology and Law at XXXVI All India Sociological Conference during the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of Indian Sociological Society at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on Dec. 11-13, 2011. She also presented the paper titled Auditing Constitutional Commitments and Social Transformation in the above conference.

The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) in association with the Journal of Management, Spirituality and Religion hosted an International Conference at the IIMB campus in Bangalore, India on January 9. The theme of the Conference was ‘The Spiritual Challenge in Management: What is to be Done?’ The conference addressed a key issue of our times: the adequacy of the current paradigms of management for the future of mankind and Dr. Shradha Kanwar from NIIT University presented a paper, ‘It all begins with ‘I’” espousing an epoch of spirituality through positive communication and controlled actions in a real time work environment.

Dr Arindam Chaudhuri, Assistant Professor in Computer Science Engineering presented papers entitled Fuzziness in Multi Objective Travelling Salesman Problem with Genetic Algorithm Tuning and Forecasting Financial Time Series using Multiple Regression, Multi Layer Perception, Radial Basis Function and Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System Models: A Comparative Analysis at two International Conferences (i) Conference of Contemporary Issues and Applications of Statistics (CCIAS) and (ii) International Conference on Business Applications and Management Issues (ICBAMI) in January 2012 at Kolkata and Durgapur respectively. CCIAS was organized by Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata from 4th to 7th January. ICBAMI was organized by Dr B. C. Roy Engineering College, Durgapur during 10th – 12th January 2012. Another research paper by Dr Chaudhuri entitled Fuzzy Mixed Integer Linear Programming for Air Vehicles Operations Optimization was accepted for presentation at IEEE International Conference on Emerging Green Technologies organized by Institute of Engineering and Management, Kolkata from 18th to 20th January. The paper was co-authored by Dr. Dipak Chatterjee, Institute of Engineering and Management, Kolkata and Ritesh Rajput, B.Tech 3rd year Computer Science Engineering student, NIIT University.

Dr. Kapil Pandla’s paper titled “Relation between perceived organisational support and counterproductive workplace behaviour: moderating role of corporate social performance ” has been published in The International Journal of Professional Management, Volume 6 Issue 1 ISSN 20422341. In this paper impact of perceived organisation support on counterproductive workplace behaviour when organisation are socially active and when they are not socially active was studied.

Dr. Narayan Kumar’s paper titled, ‘Characterization of temperature inducible promoters from a novel rolling circle replicating plasmid of Enterococcus faecium DJ1′ was published in a leading scientific journal called Plasmid.

Dr. Parag Parandkar’s Paper entitled “Performance comparison of XY,OE and DyAd routing algorithm by Load Variation analysis of 2-Dimensional Mesh topology based Network-on-chip”, has been published in BIJIT; BVICAM’s International Journal of Information Technology ISSN 0973-5658, January-June’2012. This paper compares the performance of three most important routing algorithms, namely XY, Odd-Even and DyAD by varying the network traffic load in a 2-Dimensional Mesh Topology based Network-on-chip architecture. The simulation is being performed on nirgam Network-on-chip simulator.

We Care
The University has always believed in extending its hand to those who need and the EYE Camp organized at the campus on January 14 in collaboration with Arunodaya Deseret Eye Hospital of Gurgaon was just one more initiative to show we care. The enthusiasm and dynamism of students and other NU members proved highly beneficial to the 81 patients who were able to make maximum use of this opportunity.

Happy Lohri!
Lohri , the auspicious festival signifying the end of winter on the last day of Paush, and beginning of Magha, was celebrated with much fervour at the University on January 13. The celebratory occasion culminated with a grand get together and Bada Khana.

The next day, January 14 marked the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti which was a delightful day of kite flying and festivity. In the fierce fight between 10 teams that participated in the kite flying competition, the Group led by Chirag Sharma and Oshin Sharma from B.Tech emerged as the well deserved winner.

January is a special month for all Indians as it commemorates our triumph as a progressive nation and on its 63rd Republic Day, NU rejoiced in the success of our wonderful nation. We joined in paying tribute to the brave patriots of India with a pledge to contribute to the well being of our fellowmen.

The flag hoisting ceremony was headed by Prof. Parimal Mandke who gave the opportunity of hoisting the flag to Chetna Vij , student of B.Tech, 2nd year as a ceremonial legacy, symbolic of passing the baton to the next generation. After that Prof. Deepak Khanna delivered the Republic Day Speech encouraging the students to become more active on the campus. Patriotic fervor was further built with the rendition of patriotic songs by the students.

Later in the evening, the excitement and tempo reached its peak with a cricket match between the Faculty/Staff team Vs the Student team which saw the Students winning the match in a dazzling fashion.
Jai Hind!

Table Tennis Open Tournament (Girls)
In a Table Tennis Tournament held on January 31, the brilliant display of energy and enthusiasm by the University girls enthralled the spectators. Neha Jakhotia from MBA(Finance & Banking) bagged the first position, followed by Priyanka Bansal from B.Tech 2nd Year and Ishita Jindal from B.Tech 1st Year

The concept of Polar Mass
To understand the concept of Polar Mass in a more vivid manner let us go back to the Big Bang theory, which is calculated to have occurred about 13.7 billion years ago forming everything visible and invisible. During this occurrence, like particles came together and unlike were separated.
Now, let us recreate the scenario that existed at the time of Big Bang. The particles which came out of the explosion were both positive (+) and negative (-), but since the explosion was uneven, many particles got annihilated as soon as they came into contact, whereas many were left with uneven balance of the positive & negative mass.
In such a region, like particles aggregated and formed larger bodies like rocks which further formed the planets in the following manner: Particles->Matter->Material Bodies->Planets->Galaxies->Galaxy Clusters and so on to form the Universe.
Thus, positive & negative Galaxies formed and spread unevenly all over the universe. They did not come in physical contact because of the net force experienced by the same and the oppositely charged galaxies forming well-defined orbits and rotational axes.
Now, the first question that would strike is, why can’t we see the negative counterparts? It’s because light which we see (coming from positive mass source) is absorbed by the unseen negative mass. As light rays show Dual Nature the above answer is supported by the observational technique known as “Gravitational Lensing” which is based upon the principle of bending of light around the galaxies, where the positive galaxies seem to look like a convex lens and the negative ones as concave lens. Light rays which travel close enough are absorbed but the remaining gets scattered as they pass from a gigantic concave lens. The same concept could be applied to the destructive attraction force created by the “Black Holes” which formed after the process of Hypernova in which a Star which is at least 3 times the mass of our Sun collapses within itself and forms a Black Hole. Thus, the concept of Negative Mass could serve as an alternative explanation to the highly destructive pull of a Black Hole, as a Black Hole is believed to be of infinite density and if considered to be of negative mass, that would possibly give us the correct explanation.
Astronomers often shy away to answer the phenomenon observed by Gravitational Lensing and use the term “Something else” which causes this phenomenon. We don’t know what that something maybe, I have given a scientific explanation according to my perception.
There might even be existence of the neutral mass, altering of the sign of mass to travel incredibly fast, synthesis of vacuum as energy and what not. I hope you enjoyed reading this article.

Uh-Oh By Robert Fulghum
First published in 1991 by Ivy Publishers, Uh-Oh: Some Observations from Both Sides of the Refrigerator Door is the #1 bestseller by American author Robert Fulghum, who is also the author of All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten and It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It and many other subsequent publications.This 256-page book sports a humorous and insightful collection of short essays on topics ranging from weddings to funerals, music notes to neighbourhood fights, religion to life. These essays are entertaining as well as inspiring and motivational at the same time. The book is easy to read and can be read from chapter to chapter or as any random section at a time.
Here’s a small excerpt from “Uh-Oh”:
“Uh-oh” is not in any dictionary or thesaurus, and is seldom seen in written form. Yet most of us utter that sound every day. And have used it all our lives. “Uh-oh” is one of the first expressions a baby learns. “Uh-oh,” or something like it, has been used as long as people have existed. And it may be the first thing Adam said to Eve after he bit into the apple. She knew exactly what he meant, too…

…
“Uh-oh” in this sense is a frame of mind. A philosophy. It says to expect the unexpected, and also expect to be able to deal with it as it happens most of the time. “Uh-oh” people seem not only to expect surprise, but they count on it, as if surprise were a dimension of vitality.
“Uh-oh” embraces “Here we go again” and “Now what?” and “You never can tell what’s going to happen next” and “So much for plan A” and “Hang on, we’re coming to a tunnel” and “No sweat” and “Tomorrow’s another day” and “You can’t unscramble an egg” and “A hundred years from now it won’t make any difference.” “Uh-oh” is more than a momentary reaction to small problems. “Uh-oh” is an attitude—a perspective on the universe. It is part of an equation that summarizes my view of the conditions of existence: “uh-huh” + “oh-wow” + “uh-oh” + “oh, God” = “ah-hah!”

And from here, the author proceeds to exploit his philosophies pertaining to this simple phrase “Uh-oh”, which is so unconsciously used by us in a variety of situations, in this book with the help of some narrative essays about certain occurrences in his life.

Fulghum’s unique take on the trivial incidents of everyday life and his simple way of describing the complex, provide an interesting and fun-filled joyous read. His perspective on the little meaningful things in life bode well with his colourful personality – a philosopher who expresses his thoughts about ordinary things by writing, speaking, painting or sculpting. In his 74 years, he has been a working cowboy, folksinger, IBM salesman, professional artist, parish minister, bartender, teacher of drawing, painting, sculpting and philosophy, and father.

Uh-Oh would be a wonderful addition to your personal collection and a beautifully uplifting read at any point of time. To step outside your mundane life and live a little humorously with Fulghum’s witty angle of an optimistic and unabashed lifestyle, do read this book at least once!

Book Review by Tanvi Rastogi, B. Tech, 2nd Year

The Ordinary Heroes of the Taj : HBR December 2011 Issue(Analysis)
On November 26, 2008 the world condemned terrorist attack on Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai took place. Due to this attack 31 guests lost their lives and 28 were hurt. The attack and its subsequent consequences are known throughout the world but little is known about the fact that several employees of the Taj risked their lives for those of the guests present at that time and some of them even died because of the dedication and loyalty towards their duty. Mallika Jagad a 24-year old banquet manager sprung into action quickly after hearing the first round of gunfire. She had the doors locked and the lights turned off. She asked everyone to lie down quietly under tables and refrain from using cell phones. She insisted that husbands and wives separate to reduce the risk to families. The group stayed there all night, listening to the terrorists rampaging through the hotel, hurling grenades, firing automatic weapons, and tearing the place apart. The Taj staff kept calm, according to the guests, and constantly went around offering water and asking people if they needed anything else. Early the next morning, a fire started in the hallway outside, forcing the group to try to climb out the windows. A fire crew spotted them and, with its ladders, helped the trapped people escape quickly. The staff evacuated the guests first, and no casualties resulted. Jagad was the youngest person in the room, she could have fled to safety but she responsibly did her job.

A hotel operator through a warning call alerted the staff that terrorists had entered the building and were heading towards the restaurant. Thomas Varghese, a 48 year old senior waiter at Wasabi, immediately instructed his 50-odd guests to crouch under tables, and he directed the employees to form a human cordon around them. Four hours later, security men asked Varghese if he could get the guests out of the hotel. He decided to use a spiral staircase near the restaurant to evacuate the customers first and then the hotel staff. The 30-year Taj veteran insisted that he would be the last man to leave, but he never did get out. The terrorists gunned him down as he reached the bottom of the staircase.

The Taj manager’s own family which was staying on the sixth floor of the hotel was gunned down by the terrorists but he stayed in the hotel till the next day of the attack to supervise the relief and rescue operations.

The Taj Mumbai’s employees gave customer service a whole new meaning during the terrorist strike. The Taj employees’ actions weren’t prescribed in manuals, no official policies or procedures existed for an event like 26/11. So what created that extreme customer-centric culture of employee after employee staying back to rescue guests when they could have saved themselves? What can other organizations do to emulate that level of service, both in times of crisis and in periods of normalcy? Can companies scale up and perpetuate extreme customer centricity? This extraordinary customer centricity helped, in a moment of crisis, to turn its employees into a band of ordinary heroes. To create an organizational culture in which employees are willing to do almost anything for guests the Taj follows a certain approach in its HR practices which has been described below in bullet points:-

Community Connect
As part of the Community Connect Program, students are able to engage themselves in an environment that brings them closer to humanity. Collaboratively, they are engaged in creating space for spontaneous, free flowing, fun-filled community feel. It indeed is a beautiful emotion to see the mentee and the mentor interact with each other, engrossed in trying to understand each other’s problems. Even the medium of instruction does not act as a hurdle and is easily overcome because NU mentees make every possible effort to make their mentor feel comfortable. The mentees work whole heartedly in making their lessons more interesting and enjoyable and the month of January showcased the persistent efforts of NU students in synergising with the community to make this experiential and immersive experience truly beneficial to the participants.

Veena Mehrotra
Coordinator, Community Connect Program

‘Question Marks!?’
We start our special quiz time section with a variety of questions that would make you think, think and think. Do send in your responses as soon as possible, as the first 3 correct responses shall have their names featured in the next issue. The final winners with maximum correct responses in the quarter shall also be entitled to special prizes. So go on and send your response to editor@niituniversity.in!

We’ve known since childhood that Rajasthan is a very colorful state, so now that we’re amidst all that, a bunch of us with a common aim and interest i.e photography decided to explore it through our lenses. So, we set out (courtesy Kamal Sir) on our journey, starting from Bhangarh, known to be the most haunted place in India, an entire town devoid of any habitation (after sunset and before sunrise).

Next in our itinerary was Nahargarh Fort, which stands on the edge of the Aravalli Hills, overlooking the pink city of Jaipur. The view of the city from the fort is breath taking. And that marked the end of a tiring but fruitful day for us. It was a beautiful experience and we hope for more such trips with greater participation in future.

Club members on the trip: Akash Bhasin (NU MBA 2nd yr.), Prateek Suri (B.Tech. 3rd yr.), Pongsakorn Sukhjanimit (B.Tech 3rd yr.), Sachin Bhatt (B.Tech. 1st yr.), Shagun Daral (B.Tech. 3rd yr.)

Compiled by: Shagun Daral (B.Tech. 3rd yr.)