Why Manipal

1. Diversity:

Manipal despite being a small town located in the hinterland of the Malabar coast in Karnataka, India, boasts of inhabiting a very pleasant mix of people. From a huge crowd of people hailing from the capital Delhi and other North Indian states like Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal along with the far East incorporating Assam, Sikkim, etc. Down South, people hoard from Maharashtra (Mumbai, to be particular), Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and its home state Karnataka as well. There are a few students from beyond the borders of the country too. This results in a very diverse populace. Manipal isn’t blessed only with diversity in terms of demography, but also socio-economic multiplicity. All the students aren’t from the same economic background (read: they are not all very rich).

2. Culture: 

Owing to its rich diversity, the place has come to develop a very diverse culture over the years. It stands testimony to the overlapping and intermingling of various communities which eventually develop a sense of respect for one another. As the years pass, you get to understand and know more and more about civilizations which have nothing in common with your own. The myriad languages people talk in all around you starting becoming more and more familiar with the course of time. 

3. Holistic Development:

MIT, Manipal Institute of Technology, is well-known for not churning out merely placed toppers, but confident individuals with a distinct personality of their own. The objective is the all-round creative and intellectual development of a student along with the required focus on academics. Our engineers possess vital skills required to thrive in this competition driven world such as entrepreneurial as well as management skills as is indicated by our placement stats.

4. Exposure:

This point cannot be highlighted enough. There are no limits when it comes to exposure in MIT. Merely the desire to learn or do something is enough. If you make the least bit of effort, you will be surrounded by like-minded people willing to help you in any manner possible. There are numerous technical as well as non-technical clubs, most of which organize workshops and events all year round. There are AppFests, Hackathons, DevFests, MUNs, Paper Presentations; you name it. Revels, the cultural fest and TechTatva, the technical fest of MIT are gateways to a world of opportunities in almost every field ranging from robotics, pottery, dance, programming, etc. There are numerous internships to be bagged with organizations like AISEC or IAESTE. 

There are various prestigious student projects and teams one can aspire to be a part of:

Formula Manipal- It is the biggest student project of Manipal University with an aim to- “conceptualize, design, fabricate, test and race a single seater, formula style car; for an international event called Formula Student.”

Team Manipal Racing(TMR)- It is the official off road racing team of the university. They design an All Terrian Vehicle(ATV) to compete in an international event organized by SAE.

Parikshit: It is the student satellite team which is building a nano-satellite to be launched in space in collaboration with ISRO in the next one and a half years.

5. Batch/class size and Infrastructure:

Most private engineering colleges in India have astonishingly large batch and/or class sizes. MIT is different in this context. Here, every branch has a maximum of about 200-220 students and not a staggering 600-700 as per the normal trend. The class size is limited to an optimum of 6-70, leaving little room for question. 

The infrastructure is class apart. You need to see for yourself to believe it.  The classrooms and the labs are air-conditioned. That has more to do with the hot and humid climate of the place rather than the misconception of the students being rich spoilt brats who can afford exuberant fees. The labs are well-equipped with the latest instruments, machines and cater well to the needs of the students. 

6. Facilities: 

There is always a lot of buzz about the high fees of MIT as compared to other private colleges. All in all, it’s worth every penny. The facilities provided in exchange for the money make every penny count- the comfortable and spacious rooms, the sanitation facilities, the infrastructure, etc. There are numerous eating joints in and around the campus along with general stores and confectionary shops. The sport and gym facilities are world class with Marena, the indoor sports complex of Manipal University being within walking distance from MIT. The institute houses a large library with a plethora of books on a wide variety of subjects along with reading halls and individual study sections. 

7. Freedom:

MIT offers you freedom. Not in the unrestricted, unbounded manner, but in a constructive and a growth-friendly manner. It gives you the freedom to flourish and discover your potential. On a normal full day of classes, one is free by 5:30 in the evening. After that, they’re on their own, free to do whatever they want to. If one is willing and dedicated enough, there are no boundaries to the altitudes this college can aid you in scaling with its rich, diverse and brilliant community.

Shubeksha Jalan

The art of speed reading

What if I told you that you could read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s stone in just over an hour? That you could read this entire post in less than a minute? That you could finish your studying three times faster and have plenty of time to waste? Here’s a way for you to do just that.

Speed reading

In today’s information heavy age, text is omnipresent. As university students, we have heaps and heaps of reading material dumped on us. We end up losing sleep over it or we procrastinate, ending up not reading it at all. So, to study effectively and quickly, and still have time for other things, we need to reduce the quantity of time we spend and increase its quality. This is why we at MTTN, being a university blog, decided to bring out this article on speed reading, which is something all students could do with.

To start you off, here are a few basic pointers that can help you eliminate bad reading habits and let you see a substantial and immediate improvement in your reading speed and your comprehension.

How to Speed Read

#1: Stop regression or back-tracking

Regression is the process of rereading text you’ve already read. For the unwary reader, this takes up about 30% of the reading time. That’s 20 minutes of every hour you study! Lack of concentration is one of the reasons behind rereading, however, it is the very act of rereading that throws off the flow of words and results in the lack of comprehension.  A BIG time waste and eventually resulting in lower comprehension, this is the first habit you should tackle.

There is one simple exercise that could help you tackle the problem. Take a pen and underline the sentences smoothly as you read them, with the cap on of course. Since the eye instinctively follows anything that moves, you eye movement will be smooth and your reading, regression free. However, regression can sometimes be a great tool to have in your reading arsenal. While reading information heavy texts, it is necessary to reread certain parts of the text, but even so, read the entire paragraph or line again to get it to stick in your memory.

#2: Minimize Subvocalization

When we were first taught to read, we were taught to say the words aloud. This, becoming a habit over the years for some of us, causes us to mouth the words while reading or imagine the word being said in our mind. So for people who subvocalize everything they read, reading speed=speaking speed. Inevitably, the reading speeds become very low, around 125 wpm, and we regress over read sentences. Effective speed reading requires that we spend less time on vocalizing the words, but rather on visualizing and understanding it.

There are a variety of methods you could use to get over this. If you actually mouth the words while reading, try chewing some gum or try humming a random tune. For controlling the voice in your head, use a pair of headphones and listen to some music while you study, this will let you read purely on a visual basis. Of course, not all kinds of music help, listen to something without lyrics, classical or instrumental music work the best I believe. But as you start getting practice, tackle this on the conscious level and try forcing yourself to minimize subvocalization.

#3: Chunking by using peripheral vision

Till now, you have probably read texts one word at a time, but speed reading employs chunking of words. Instead of focusing on word, we learn to take in multiple words at a time. This not only speeds up your reading but also clears the flow of words and increases your understanding of the matter contained within. This is a pretty hard technique to learn for beginners and there are a few exercises that could help you. Here’s one such exercise that is popular and effective:

“Take a book and draw two parallel lines about three inches apart from each other down the middle of the text. Concentrate on the area between the lines and try not to move your eyes outside of them. See if you can catch the words beyond the lines in your peripheral vision. Being able to indirectly read words in this way will greatly increase your reading speed.”

#4: Skimming

This technique is based on the fact that not every word is important when conveying an idea. Skimming is just looking for important keywords which convey the basic idea on their own without properly formulated sentences. The best way to do this is to look at the index and see what a particular section is about and prime our mind on what to expect. So, when you read it, you can eliminate many words and still get the meaning out of the text. But use this with caution so as to not affect comprehension.

#5: Use web apps

Many web apps are available now that can measure your reading speed. Here’s one that is very user friendly: Staples speed-reader. There are also apps that help you implement the techniques learnt above and more. Spreeder is one such great app that is easy to use (Just copy paste your material) and one that makes reading fun. Be sure to try out both the apps above, they are a great help!

#6: Force yourself to read faster than you think you can

This not only minimizes subvocalization and regression but also helps you focus. Since you’re reading faster, you have to pay more attention and comprehension increases automatically. The more you practice and push yourself, the faster you will get.

We hope this article helps you! Happy speed reading!

Have any speed reading tips of your own? How was your experience after trying some of these tips? Share them with us in the comments!

The Tiny guide to MIT

The Tiny guide to MIT:

The Internet:

Zero restrictions, the only limit is a 15 GB per month one. Pretty fast when no one is in the hostel, ex: weekday afternoons.

Dress code:

Official word: Full pants anywhere in the academic area, no collarless T-Shirts or sleeveless.

What really happens: As long as nothing offensive is written on your T-Shirt, any kind is okay. Full pants are a must though.

The Manipal bug:

Only well into my first semester did I find out that the famed 'Manipal bug' was not a metaphor and that it was a deadly insect! It's very rare and there's certainly nothing to worry about, just close the nets in your rooms at night. Read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paederus_dermatitis

The rain:

It doesn't rain in Manipal the usual way. You know, a short drizzle at first, a slow increase in the rain and then a slow decrease till it stops? Nope. In Manipal, there's a switch for the rain. It goes from no rain to a raging torrent of frothing cold water in two seconds. That's Manipal for you folks, and the lesson of the day is this: your best friend in Manipal is not a human, it's a long and strong umbrella (or a person with one).

The clubs and organizations:

There is a ban that prevents you from talking directly to us seniors for a couple of months. That usually lifts around October and that's when every club in MIT will be trying to canvass you to join them. The highly popular ones have grueling selections that more than 500 people apply for! This process goes on throughout the rest of the semester and if you keep looking at this group regularly, you won't miss a thing. There are some pretty awesome clubs out there, but you have got to know which ones you really like because they take up quite a lot of time. The work is rewarding however and you get to work with some great people! Oh and don't forget, joining a club is as important as your academics here. Your communication skills need to amazing at the end of four years and joining a club is the first and easiest step towards that goal.

Swimming: 

There's a pretty awesome swimming pool near central MIT. Open to all and has a membership at almost no cost.

The 16th and 17th blocks:

Yes, they're really far away. However, for a first year guy there could be no better place for a thriving community. There's guys of all kinds here and you develop a huge circle of friends. In the end, when I look back at a year of trudging the distance from the hostel to college, it was all worth it! Also if you're lazy (like me) AND do no other physical work AND eat a lot AND want to stay fit, 16th block it is, the walk alone keeps you so!

Ragging:

Unless you're Telugu, there's absolutely zero ragging here. (Apart from the pathetic attempts we make on the group here.) For my Telugu friends, well, good luck!

Information and guidance:

Manipal The Talk.Net Our Facebook page or our website, your source for all things Manipal. Any personal doubts you have, stuff to tell us or so on, just send us a message! We'll be your closest friends throughout your four years and who knows, if you love to write and take pictures, maybe you'll even join our family! Check out our page, follow us and never miss a thing! 

Well, that's about it for now. Any questions and you know where to ask! :)

Welcome to the wonderful world of Manipal! 

Vishnu

The weary reveller

Adithya Suri is a third year student currently pursuing his B.Tech degree at the Vellore Institute of Technology. He loves to spend his time JAMming and speaking impromptu; he bagged the first in both the Just A Minute and the Extempore events in revels. We bring you an interview with the very same.

Is this your first visit to Manipal? How was your experience here?

This is my first visit here and I have to say, I loved it! The organizers were great, they made sure that we had a very comfortable stay; lots of thought has been put into the schedule too because we could attend all the events we wanted to without any confusion. They were also very encouraging, to say the least.

What do you like most about Manipal?

I love the freedom you guys have here after college. But most of all, I like the people here. They’re very friendly and helpful. They’re lots of fun to be with! Especially your literary club, those guys are great!

How did you like Revels?

Revels was amazing! The events were great and the organizers were efficient. I loved the competition here; it’s sad that you guys can’t come to many other fests because the kind of talent you have here is really good!

What was your favorite moment here in Manipal?

Winning the JAM, hands down!

So, in MIT, we heard of a new rule in VIT which asks people to refrain to only hand shakes in the campus. What is your take on that?

*chuckling* It’s blown out of proportion! If you look at it this way, how else could they have phrased it? They wanted us to refrain from physical contact and they put it in the best way they could. Although that didn’t stop it from becoming a fail. I even remember that there was an offer for free hugs from MITians! But I feel that our college does this because they really care. In they end, however misguided and restrictive their rules are, they do mean well.

Have you attended many fests?

This is in fact my 7th or 8th fest this semester.

*interrupting* What about attendance?

Oh, we get attendance when we go out for fests. VIT is cool in that way, they encourage us to attend lots of fests outside.

Did you know that MIT is actually very strict in attendance? We are very, very rarely given attendance even for the best of reasons or competitions. 

That’s sad! It will be nice if you guys came to other colleges’ fests. Well, looks like MIT has hostel freedom and VIT has academic freedom, it will be great if all of us had both!

Now, a blunt question, how did you become such an awesome JAMmer?

*chuckles* Thank you! It’s nothing much. I just love what I do,  JAMming is close to my heart and I enjoy it. As long as you have command over the language, you’re good. The rest is just practice and confidence. The reason that VITians are the majority in many of the literary events is that we practice intensely for the events. We are very careful in picking the talent for our literary club, we pick people who are good at certain things, a good actor is sure to entertain the audience of an impromptu speech session and so on.

Some advice for budding JAMmers and impromptu speakers?

Know your audience. It always helps to entertain the audience, so be as humorous as you can within the scope of the event. There’s no use jamming your opponents frequently unless you are extremely sure about it. Wait for a few seconds and they are bound to make mistakes, try not to get negatives till the last few rounds.

Something you’d like to tell Manipal?

Glad to be here, would love to be back!

We hung out for some more time as I showed him through the academic block to collect his prizes. He encouraged me to attend the fests of other colleges, telling me: ‘This is what is great about these fests, we meet a lot of new people and learn a lot of new things. I’ve cleared a lot of misconceptions about my college and you’ve told me a lot about yours. You learn a lot, it’s a great experience!”. That’s indeed true, here’s hoping that our otherwise great college eases down the rules on attendance and encourages us to attend other fests!

Vishnu