AeSI exams results awaited- few tips for next semester

AeSI results is what all the AeSI students will be waiting for now. And many of you might have begun studying for the next semester. So I thought I will share some of the tips so that the next semester is more fruitful and productive for all of you.


My most productive semesters were the once in which I had made clear cut goals or targets. While in section-B I took up propulsion-1, propulsion-2, propulsion-3 and aerodynamics as my subjects. This were tough subjects and whenever I told the choice of subjects to any of my friends they stared at me and I guess laughed behind my back at my foolishness of taking all the tough and big ones at one go. But my task in that semester was simple. I took the subjects thinking that they will be related and then there was the fact that all of them were to be taught by Mr. Natrajan sir. He is the most productive teacher I have seen in my entire life. I mean he used to come at 7am in morning and then used to continue teaching till 9 in the evening. At tea breaks we always used to wonder from where he gets so much stamina or energy to teach. This is when I challenged myself that if I wanted distraction free study then I need to emulate Natarajan sir and I took all his subjects at one go and I cleared all the four subjects that semester with getting the highest marks in propulsion-3 and aerodynamics!!!


Here I want to tell you 3 things that did the magic for me. I used the word magic because like magic this whole thing can be accomplished by some careful planning and preparation.

1. First and foremost was that I took up the class in GIE and never skipped any of the lectures of Natrajan sir. During that time some bhaiya was also giving propulsion classes and majority of students were enrolled for his tuitions, but I kept my focus on Natrajan sir. Yes he doesn’t cover the entire syllabus and sometime miss some of it but I think knowledge is like energy. My best came from the fact that I took the knowledge from Natrajan sir and not from some bhiya. As thermodynamics teaches us. Energy degrades from one from to other so I wanted the purest and so I stayed with Natrajan sir and it really helped. How? See that particular bhiya also studied from him. But what is the most important thing was he was just imparting the knowledge of propulsion while Natrajan sir, with his years of experience was teaching us the same thing but was also sowing the seeds of problem solving. I will write a separate post of the things AeSI students can learn from Natranjan sir latter some time.

2. Plan your study hours. This is one important step. Plan on the numbers of hours you want to put in everyday for your studies. The no of hours shouldn’t be the maximum that you can give. But they should be the minimum that you pledge yourself that you will be able to give everyday no matter what. In my case I knew with no other things to do I could do 7 hours study easily but then this hours I didn’t knew if the classes and other activities will permit me to have them always. So I gave myself 2 hours everyday. Yes 2 hours. This is the minimum I have to give to my studies everyday for that semester. I wanted consistency and this minimum 2 hours gave, me that. I always overshot this hours but knowing that I have put in my minimum hours target for that day helped keeping me positive.

3. Use library extensively. I have written a long article back then of the benefits of library. And if you had been in GIE during that time. You would have always seen me at GIE’s library everyday. This is where my minimum 2 hours were always consumed. Not only it gave me the perfect peaceful and undistracted place to study but having so many reference books at hand increased the breadth of the knowledge that I studied. Please do read the advantages of studying in library that I found then.

So these were the 3 things that every AeSI students can emulate in his or her own study schedule to get the maximum out of this semester. What else do you recommend for a productive semester? Have other tips for studying productivity, do share in comments.

Study and Life Lessons from Natrajan Sir of GIE

I studied for my AeSI from GIE and among all the faculties, one that influenced me most is Mr. Natrajan sir, from principles of flights, to thermodynamics to propulsion to aerodynamics he took all the classes and what a marathon he did.


A typical class of Natrajan sir was filled with the subject, some practical tips and wisdom of his long experience. One common thread in all his lectures was his witty small, jokes that he inserted in his lectures. His slides were the rage and have his notes and then hear is explanation, he made the whole topics crystal clear.


So what are the 3 things that i took from him and that every AeSI students should consider implementing in his or her studies and life?

• The first thing had to be the problem solving techniques he applied. His funda was simple begin from fundamentals. Begin from the root. Given a problem he always began from the basic and this is what he practiced and preached in all his classes. Be it a theory question or numerical problem, he went to root and came up with the answers out of those fundamentals. So apply that in your all studies. Efficiency of Brayton cycle. Don’t just mug up the formula. Know how it is coming from the fundaments and you will see the value of his teaching. Same way in principles of flights you are being asked about the question of reasoning… go to the basics. Root your answer from there.

• The second thing that I learnt from Natranjan sir was his jest for teaching and learning. As I pointed in my previous post, he is the most energetic and enthusiastic teacher I have seen in my life. When he at his age can be so enthusiastic and energetic about his teaching and work, then I guess we AeSI graduates and students should take this quality from him. He is the perfect example to me of the person who enjoyed his jobs so much that he was one with it and the long hours didn’t sip his energies. This was one other thing that Natrajan sir teaches us. His attitude was positive to his teaching and I guess we all need to emulate that and we will be much happier in our careers if we can get this quality in our lives.

• The third point has to be the related to the way he taught us. His style was informal and the use of imagination was immense. His notes were littered with example and his lectures had the vivid, memorable instances and examples so that the topic he was teaching become etched. He concreted his theories in lectures by giving solid in the world example. While teaching propulsion-1, I remember, he began all his topics with some of or other mentions of bikes and that really intrigues us. We all can use these techniques; relate what you are studying with the things that you have around you. Make the connections and see them on your mental black board. This is what Natrajan sir did. Paint a mental pictures of the concepts, make them large, life-size and see how clearly you understand the topic and how long lasting that particular topic will be .

• Another tip in his teaching was that he always progressed from the known to the unknown. Always began the topic with the things we knew and then connected this known things to the unknown concepts of topics that he was lecturing us. This technique was very effective as this connected and made pictures in our mind. So take that from him and next time you are studying a new topic, begin from the known, connect, find path to the unknown and connect and see how that particular topic is understood more easily.

These were some of the things I could remember right now. I know they are not the all. I will publish other if I remember. I hope you apply this tips in your daily life in your studies and in your job. They are as applicable to the studies as in your jobs. Please do share your learning experiences with your lecturers here. ? Let’s make this post more informative by sharing your thoughts?

Natarajan sir’s mind boggling answer…

A question asked by student to Natrajan sir after GATE class..

a room is full of oxygen and if i increase the temp of the room ,will oxygen get burned….?

we all know how Natrajan sir makes our doubt clear by giving simple simple example .he explains with such a example that we can not forget for a long time.

bellow is his answer..

see I m a teacher ,i can not teach my self .i need students to teach similarly oxygen is oxidizer it can not be burnt by itself ,it needs fuel to get burnt.

Have similiar experience with Natarajan sir...?

Please do share with us in comment section.

Thanks for reading,

Modi Priteshkumar Mahendrakumar

Experience matters ... !!

A question asked by student to Natrajan sir after GATE class..

A room is full of oxygen and if i increase the temp of the room ,will oxygen get burned….?

We all know how Natrajan sir clears doubt clear by giving simple simple example. He explains with such a example that we can not forget for a long time.

Bellow is his answer..

I'm a teacher and I can not teach my self . I need students to teach. Similarly oxygen is oxidizer, it can not be burnt by itself, it needs fuel to get burn.

Natarajan sir is a very well known faculty of Anna university.He is also visiting faculty of GIE. 

Share your experience in comment section ....

Post Credit : Pritesh Modi, IIT KGP

Learn from the expert

Learn from the expert. Learn from the person who has the maximum potential… yes I have already talked about it…Its simple thermodynamics. If you consider yourself the sink then your source has to be someone who has much higher knowledge.. see heat always flows from hot to cold. Consider you are cold in terms of knowledge and then get the knowledge from a source that is burning hot.. Not from the guy who just cleared that particular test the previous semester.

See he is just warm with the knowledge but your tutor is the one who has the maximum potential.

I say this because during my days of AeSI I have seen people shunning Natrajan sir’s classes and going for classes of some bhaiya who just cleared his degree. That was absurd!!! And I realized that it wasn’t for any personal attention they got there. That bhaiya was also teach not one or two people but 40 AeSI guys and gals!! This is here I saw how people just gravitate….. I had my share of studying from one bhaiya but then too I kept my other door open and I was taking regular classes from my lecturer at GIE!!

Bhaiyas maybe good but if you understand the fundamental thermodynamics then rest assured that you will soon reach equilibrium with someone who is just warm…..

Study from someone red hot!! Don’t skip the actual teachers who have more knowledge more experience. Its not only about the subjects real teachers along with the subjects will teach all other essential life skills that you will reap benefit even when you have grown to be an engineer!!

so study, learn from an expert!!!

Take a day off - How to study for AeSI?

This took me a long time to understand.

When I was in AeSI, i read many times about benefits of taking a day
off but was never able to get myself to do so.

But in section B, with 5 subjects at one go, I had to take a day off
as all the other days were filled with GIE, and Natrajan Sir!!

This is when my studies and study habits improved a lot.

The result was that I cleared, propulsion 1,2,3, aero 1, and advance
strength of materials in one semester.

Studies is just like being in a gym. If after a heavy exercise, you
don't give your body proper rest, you won't see much of an
improvement. Have rest in your exercise routine and you will see your
body blosom.

Similar thing happens with the brain. Give it a day of rest, it gets
the time to reorganise and regroup.

So my advice to every aesi student is take one day off. Study for 6
days. And on the seventh day give it complete freedom to do whatever
it likes. Do everything but studies!!

Choose whatever day, that's not important. Important is choosing a day
to rest and wonder!

This post is part of the series on how to study for AeSI?

Read more about how to study for AeSI by clicking the following link http://my-aesi.blogspot.com/search?q=AeSI

Good luck!!

How to pass AeSI exams?

• Don't study, yes seriously don't study.
• Don't mug.
• Don't setup a routine.
• Don't bother attending classes.
• Don't give a damn to subjects.
• Don't look at the syllabus book.
• Don't open your books.
• Don't write down what you learn.
• Don't keep records?
• Don’t discuss what you study?

Yes seriously if you do any of the thing you will never pass. So do everything that is opposite.

The only way to pass AMAeSI, just like everything else, is put in the time.

Related Stuff:

• Bhaiya how do I study propulsion 1?
• Advantages of Studying in Library!!
• Study and Life Lessons from Natrajan Sir of GIE
• 5 Studying tips from my maths teacher at GIE?
• How to pass AeSI exams ? -from ouraesi

Qualification Vs Knowledge !!

Friends, We had a useful discussion on a page "The Aeronautical Society of India" at facebook. I want to share it with you. I believe that you will find it useful.

• Sarvoday Singh - Knowledge
• Ranjan Raj Soren qualification based on knowledge......:)
• Aditya Agrawal qualification bcoz wiuthout qualification knowledge is useless. . . .
• Himalya Bansal Knowledge
  coz qualification without knowledge is like red rose without fragnance.
• Isha Goyal knowledge..(dre r some ppl in d world whu dnt hv qualification bt dey r mch more intelligent nly by dre knowledge)..
• Vineet Nair I would like to share my experience....I have seen dumb ppl at Bigger positions just because they had Qualification (which was ofcourse acquired by muscle/money power since they had no knowledge) and I have seen more knowledgable ppl working under them or in some BPO .....PPL from AeSI very well know hw they end up at BPO......
• Himalya Bansal Even though my opinion says KNOWLEDGE however let me take qualification side and start a discussion....so that we can have a final outcome.....
  @Qualification : final objective of all is to get a job... tell me one thing if you don't meet job criteria so what is the basis of having knowledge... even to appear any interview you need to have certain qualification.....
• Hemant Prabhakar qualification with reference:-) 
• Jyotindra Thakur knowledge...
• Sandeep Yadav Of cource knwledge...bt without qulifictn no value of knwledge.....
• Himalya Bansal ‎@Isha Goyal .... agree but don't you think that qualification increases your global exposure ...
• Vineet Nair ‎Himalya Bansal at least in India I would say you can buy Qualification but not Knowledge..... ;-)
• देवदत्त शर्मा knowledge ppl knowledge
• Hemant Prabhakar Criteria is qualification to explore ur knowledge 
• Anand Mathew KNOWLEDGE is POWER.... So qualification will follows us
• Vineet Nair ‎Hemant Prabhakar who would u respect more?? Person with Knowledge or Qualification???
• Vishal Nawalgaria knowledge for sure...& thts what aesi gives us.... but does it help earn a living?
• Himalya Bansal ‎@all .... I think that choosing qualification was a mistake ... coz everyone expect few are taking knowledge side......
  by d way friends, why do everyone of us think about working somewhere.... can we have a dream of creating employment ? rather then just following the path created by our seniors ......
  I think we should be innovative & creative ... and try to create new possibilities ...
• Mahendra Pandey qualification..
• Sachin Kumar In aesi qualification. But if u dnt hv knowlegde u r nt able to qualify propulsion1 n prop 2. 
• Himalya Bansal ‎Sachin Kumar don't worry Prof. Natrajan from @GIE, Chennai has sent a letter followed with the support of more then 100 students to AEronautical Society of India regarding the same .....
  &
  don't you feel that aesi mei aane ke baad bande ki knowledge badh jaati hei .... I really feel like this.... I have improved my skills a lot after joining aesi .....
• Himalya Bansal ‎@anand mathew .... I agree but try to have a look on the opposite of the coin as well.... They are good in practicals ... Are we ?
  Do we really know anything about aircraft ? now plz dn't say that I know flaps, spoilers and ol... I'm talking about practical aspects ....
• Sachin Kumar I think student who is in final stage of degree cmplitn in society, have both qualifictn as well as knowlege.
• Himalya Bansal by d help of knowledge we can't only earn money , we can create new possibilities as well....
• Sachin Kumar New po$sibilits can never b created on the bases of qualificathttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=9184576n only. Thats y qualification is analogus of knowledge
• Shrestha Mittra i guess its da knowledge of da people wat z needed in work dhre if qualification ws everythng den newton wouldnt hav been a scientist instead could hav been worthless fellow..its da brain of da person wch matters n nt da qualification..:))
• Sree Jith Ofcourse knowledge is important but this alone won't take you where u want to be or rather what u always wanted to become, in present conditions people do ask for qualification, even though if we have prefect knowledge but not the required qualification they won't consider US fit for the job.In most of the cases this happens
• Aditi Handique Based on present scenario n if we see through a practical approach qualification matters more.
• Narendra Singh Maurya qualificatn z like a gate entry pass in compny but knwlge z a pwr ful skil.
• Rajat Shrivastava knowledge without qualification is of on use, and qualification without knowledge is useless.
  so we need both of them.
• Vishnu J Nair qualification and knowledge,both has its on power. without knowledge their is no value for the qualification
• Harish Sudhakaran after all..it"s.. common sense...that matters....which is not so common...!!!
• Patitapaban Sahoo der r some great xample in India, who dont hv qualification but knowledge.......like KABIR DAS.......ND ofcourse qualification comes aftr knowledge...... 

Friends, these are few comments on a post @ "The Aeronautical Society of India" page at facebook.

Do share your views that what is more important knowledge or qualification ?                      

Measure What is Measurable

'...measure what is measurable and make measurable what is no so...' -Galileo

If you are learning a new tool, a new software, a new skill, a new method then always remember Galileo's rule.

Measure the measurable. whatever is being measured will improve. This is what the core of the matter. If you want improvement in your resolution or goals measure them regularly!

During my days in NAL, I was actively measuring the time I spent on the tool that I learnt there. From Matlab to Solidworks, from Nastran  to visual basic, from scripting to drawing I noted the no of hour I spend on each activity.

As no of hour I put in help me see what I was learning and it had improved my learning process a lot. It enabled me to learn many tools and have an hands on experience on many of them in the period of the time that I have spend in NAL.

So measure. I am doing the same with my declared resolutions of this year and I am glad that I am working on them till now and barring the scripting thing I am doing pretty good. Here’s the snipped of the chart of my resolution measurement.

How are your progressing on yours? measure your goals Galileo is not wrong in the above quote. It works. Not only as a motivation but this regular reviewing helps reinforce the goals that you have.

Related : Focusing on solutions than problems will go a long way in AeSI and Life

• 5 Reasons that IIT Lectures are a Boon for AeSI Students.
• When will AeSI announce june 2008 results?
• Study and Life Lessons from Natrajan Sir of GIE
• 3 Ways to Jump Start Your Semester
• AeSI exams results awaited- few tips for next semester
• Advice to AeSI students before you begin the next semester
• Why the begining of last semester of AeSI for skills development
• 6 things you should begin doing in your last semester of AeSI.
• Read the ANSYS Advantage magazine for free

Surprises

Standing at the other side of AeSI, I can tell you students out there. Hang in there. Yes its frustrating, the examination and the results most of the time do not match. Sometimes questions that came are not meant for exams, Sometime 80% of the questions are coming form a  single topic, or sometime the question requires a long explanation but has only tiny marks are allocated to it.

Sometimes the questions are just the repeat of the last semester  questions. Sometimes its just the combination of 2 or 3 papers question picked and juggled and sometimes its entirely new in pattern and topics selected.

Studying does make you tackle all this but what is needed is the mental discipline, mental effort to see through the surprise.

Natrajan Sir once explained the best way to tackle this is to keep yourself  prepared. expect to be surprised then only you won’t be surprised. One gets surprised only when he/she is too concentrated on the examination papers and shuns the syllabus book. So the best strategy is to begin with the syllabus book, then as you progress in your studies get question papers onboard.

Question papers are to give you a familiarity of the exams, they are there to check yourself on your preparation. Don’t fix too much on the question paper and the pattern, don’t study based on what question papers seem to suggest, study according to the syllabus book.

5 Studying tips from my maths teacher at GIE?

Always begin from the basics….I remember the classes of my mathematics teacher in GIE.

He just like Natrajan sir. Always approached the problem from the basics. Whenever he was absolving a maths problem. He didn’t just write the formulae for it but analyzed it from basics…

Don’t skip small steps.. yes they take time but they also reduce the chances of making silly mistakes. If your are making many silly mistakes .then skipping steps must be the culprit. Try practicing not skipping simple steps and you will notice how effective your studies will become.

When reading something, read aloud. I know for sure that this works betters in terms of understanding than just reading in your mind. Hearing your own words you register the problem more than by just reading in your mind. Read aloud.

Begin from known to unknown… from simple to complex.. When you get a problem that you haven’t seen before start not from the end but from the basics and do one thing at a time.. go forwards one step at a time.

A big problem is like a stair case that is covered in fog. So the best way to not getting hurt is go one step at a time and from the close to the end….. just trying hard to see the other end of the staircase in the fog is not the solutions… see the next step and do it. this will bring your closure.

Always give yourself homework at the end… this is one of the most important lesson that you can take from Ganapati sir. He always had a habit of giving us 2 problems as homework. So whatever your are studying. At the end of the study session get a pen and and a notebook and in it assign yourself a homework that is assign yourself two question that the you will do when you next time study that subject…

This is very effective technique..there are 2 advantages..one when you summarize and think of two questions for the next session. Your mind will consolidate all the things you have learnt in that session and you will have a quick recap of the things your studies.. The other advantage is that once you start you next session of study for the subject it will be your warn up question. It will quickly allow you to get more productive in your study. In my work when I am leaving for the day I intentionally leave a little task undone… so that next day when I come back… I don’t wait for my mind to figure out what to do… I know that small thing has to be done and I just dig in doing that… this usually starts my day!!

Journey Through A Jet Engine- must watch video

I have always imagined this very similarly. when I first learnt about jet propulsion and as Natrajan sir taught us about the working of a jet engine, I imaged the flow just as the video at this website shows.

 

Rolls-Royce: Journey Through A Jet Engine

See this amazing video of the journey of an air particle through a turbofan engine. I loved it and I have to admit this reminded me of the visual imagination technique that I applied in many of my flights and propulsions subjects!!!

Great stuff. Even if you know how a gas turbine works, this video is worth a visit to the new perspective that you will gain of a turbofan engine. Make sure you read the commentary below the video as you follow the journey of the air particle. Marvelous I say.

Check out other videos of my-AeSI

Do you anything interesting like?

Do you know something interesting like this, then do post the links I love this stuff!!

3 things that Dr. Ramamuthy taught me and how they can help you learn catia or solidworks better

I did my training in NAL. I began it in my last semester. It was around the time when VMD subject took a turn around. This was the semester that AeSI folks all around saw no person passing in VMD!! So that time i joined NAL and was fortunate to be able work under Dr. S Ramamurthy, then sceintest F.

Apart from applying my aerospace knowledge there, i learnt NASTRAN, ANSYS, solidworks and many other programming languages..

Of those days i remember this 3 points that I have learnt from my mentor. This are the 3 steps that have made my learning of so many software's easy and fruitful

1. Always begin with basics. You will never get stuck. don't jump steps. Approach the problem from the root. follow all assumptions and tackle one problem one at a time. From CATIA to NASTRAN, everywhere Dr. Ramamurthy began any analysis project from the basics. he kept the focus of the basics and developed the whole thing from that point. He incrementally added the details and curved out the perfect mesh or model.

2. Work is your puja. This is the nirvana, this is the karma. If you can enjoy it and bring your passion into it you are the number one. He used to say this and this is what Dr. Ramamuthy followed. This is what he preached and followed. One glance at his desk will reveal him hunched back and playing around with his books, thesis or softwares. I still remember he was the first scientist who came to our division and the last who he left. He was very much involved in all his projects. How con he bring so much . Well his work. his passion in the subject supplied all the energy. Like Natrajan sir., his passion was his fuel.

3. Avoid shortcuts, they might be easy on the surface but they need more more work in the long run. Shortcuts can stumble you in unfamiliar territories but not the long cuts...shorts cuts are like AeSI, easy to get in But difficult to pass. He followed this in learning software too. He used file menu than relying on the shortcuts of the tool bar. For many it seemed to be a waste of time but I have seen that because he was accustomed to using the menu, he was more efficient in any machine he sat, while the lead designer in our team was great in his own customized system but his productivity decreased drastically if he sat on a different system, struggling to find the shortcut toolbars. So while learning any software, rely more on the menus and standard keyboard shortcuts than on toolbars, they might look inviting but with menus you will be more productive in the long term.

So folks what do you say? What have you learnt. Share your knowledge? Training is all about learning. So what have you learnt from your experiences.

Confidence + degree + skills = job

In my earlier post I have mentioned the above formula and said after AeSI, this is the recipe for landing a job. I ventured that if one can develop this 3 while studying for AeSI then you need no training and he or she is ready for the job,

In this post I would like to talk more about it and go in depth of what I meant by each of the term.


Confidence!

What is confidence? Confidence is your belief in yourself. It’s the belief that you are able to take on the work assigned to you. It’s the belief that you are able to apply your knowledge to get results. So how can an AeSI student build his confidence? First it’s passing his or her degree, that's one major confidence booster. IF you have passed with honest effort, you are already on your way of being confidence. It comes with preparation.

For me passing 4 subjects at one go was a major boost to my confidence. In section B, first semester I took up propulsion 1, 2, 3 and aerodynamics 1 as my subjects and studied for them, and did a marathon study along with Natrajan sir!!! And after my last semester, without waiting for the results to be announced I came to Bangalore and joined NAL as an unpaid training. This was best decision that I took in regards to AeSI and it really paved and concreted my confidence. It showed me the knowledge that AeSI has imparted us.

Confidence comes by preparation. By honestly studying for the exams, and getting all fundamentals and basics in your fingertips. Confidence comes with seeing the results of your efforts.

Wikipedia has a good post regarding how to build confidence. Read it and most importantly apply the points!!


The one I liked most is
"Try to make yourself talk positively at all times. When you hear yourself saying you can't do something, stop and say you can. Unless you try, you will never know whether you are able to or not."

Degree
The next part of the equation is degree. Complete the AMAeSI degree. It will enable you to say that you are one of the best aeronautical engineer in india!! Yes Read it here, here and here. It is this degree that enables these persons to say that they are best in the world. And then we all have the biggest inspiration Mr. Bishnujee Singh. He began from AeSI degree. As Shah Rukh Khan says in the recent HP advertisements, think big. Once you have made your mind that you are pursuing the AMAeSI degree. Forget the fact how tactless, careless, unsympathetic AeSI folks are . Be proud of your degree. It’s the only thing that should matter. As I said in my earlier post “tips for getting employed in the aerospace boom”, taking pride in your degree is the most important thing IF you don't respect it NOBODY else will.

Skills.
A company requires person who are not only knowledgeable but the one who can apply that knowledge to some practical work out of which the company benefits. And this is where your skills came. So as mentioned in post titled “things to do in your last semester”, make it a point to know what are the skills that the companies are looking for and began building them in your AeSI days. This is the most important area that you have to work for. In my case I have begun earlier, I knew I had a knack of programming so I began with that skill and set a daily 30 minutes goal for that. I developed it so that it became my prime reason for getting the project trainee job in NAL. I didn't have access to CATIA or other design and analysis software like NASTRAN, ANSYS then, but if I had I am sure I would have chalked out a similar plan for that... So most important thing AeSI students can do first know what skills are needed and when they are in last or 2nd last semester of AeSI, they should begin developing them. Set small challenge and daily goals to accomplish them.


Well this completes the recipe.. If you have all the 3 you are job ready and can hit send to send your resumes along with cover letters and I am sure there's nothing that can stop you from getting that job.

What are your thoughts to this? Do you think there is some other ingredient to it that I missed? Please do share your opinions in the comments.

Take a Test

The best way to see how much you have learnt, how you are progressing is to take a test.

I did this often in my AeSI days. In fact this was what my Mathematics teacher in class X,XI and XII did when he gave us 3 problems to solve before he began his class. I learnt more from his revision technique than anything else. If you also want to employ it in your studies then read How to study mathematics.

Why taking a test is so successful? It not only keeps you informed about your progress but doing that helps your brain to stay away from the routine and it keeps your brain cells some exercises.

So take test as often as you can, close your books and take up a mental stock of the concepts you learnt. How they fit in your life? How can you explain them to your younger sibling?

The best question to see if you have really understand the concept of something then just answer yourself mentally how will you explain the concept to your grand mother?

I did this exercise a lot and many concepts that I explained through this mental exercise are still intact in my mind. Explain the working of gas turbine engine, What is FEM, explain oblique and normal shock waves, what is moment of inertia were some of the topics that I employed this trick.

So carry on this exercise next time, when you begin your study, take a simple test and mentally rehearse what you learnt in the particular subject the previous day!!!

This was one of the tricks that I employed? Share what you do?

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• How to study mathematics.
• How i cleared my Workshop technology exams in AeSI
• Study and Life Lessons from Natrajan Sir of GIE

Learning by Osmosis

I am attending a training on iSight. I already know the software and
in the past couple of months i have use it in my day job.

I have read through all the tutorials/documents that I had on this
software. But still I choose to be part of the training. And I am glad
I am doing it. I am learning so much by osmosis!!

The instructer is clearly an expert, 30 years in this domain, he knows
the ins and out of this tool. His slides are preety much the same but
real insights are in his way of explaining.

With the experience behind him, he emphasizes the points of mistakes,
common pitfalls and important places to look for.

Some of his analogies sheds whole new light on your way of seeing the
problem.

I experienced similar thing when I studied for AeSI and always choose
to attend lectures by Natrajan sir and others. Even if I was attending
a seniors extra classes I made it a point that I was also in the class
of a qualified, experienced lecturer for that subject.

Similar insights errupted and foggy understanding cleared as I sat in
those classes. I call this learning by osmosis.

It's like thermodynamics, the higher the temperature gradient, the
better will be the heat transfer. The more experienced the lecturer,
better the knowledge!!

So my advice to anyone in AeSI now is go attend lectures even if you
know the subject. Even if you are taking extra classes from seniors,
go for experienced lecturers. There knowledge, wisdom and experience
will seep through!!

Natarajan sir has been a big influence on my studies and you can find
evidence of that strewn all around this blog. Find it via this link http://my-aesi.blogspot.com/search?q=natarajan
&max-results=100

6 tips to remember during exams

1. Do all the stuff. Don't get depressed during the exams. Even if the question paper is unexpected, way different than you had imagined. Stay focussed. According to Mr. Natrajan sir. Take a deep breath, Relax yourself and then begin doing what you can with the question paper without thinking anything else. You will find as you go the paper is not that difficulty as it seemed at first. remember its all in your attitude.

2. Be neat and clean with the paper. Live lot of white spaces and a combination of blue black pen for heading will enhance the acceptability of your answer sheet as it shows that you were serious about the paper.

3. Handwriting though not very important but it should be legible and recognizable. You don't want to frustrate the paper checker with lousy illegible handwriting.

4. Choose questions wisely. Not only is accuracy is important but you must choose the question that will require less time. Examination is all about checking your mental abilities and the choices you make will decide how far you score. Sometime a simple question is lengthy but you have a choice of a tricky question which will be short. So if you have the confidence that you can do the tricky one go for it. Time management as well as your confidence in topics should enable you to decide on the questions you want to attempt.

5. Concentrate on the paper and nothing else. Don't think of any other thing. During the exams its only the exam that matters, don't speculate of make scenarios in examination hall. You are their to write an exam and do just that. This way you will avoid silly mistakes.

6. And Most important thing is to read the question carefully and understand what is asked and then answer it. You are supposed to answer what is asked and not what you know. So while answering do remember this.

Related links
5 tips for studying for exams
My way of decompressing while preparing for exams
After exams what?
6 lessons from last semester
Lessons from propulsion 2 exams
Secret of clearing AeSI!
Visit www.aesi.org or http://www.csirwebistad.org/aesi/ for the examination dates.