Kota Diaries: Engineering Coaching in Kota

Engineering
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Career

Career Point University (CPU), in association with Cadd Center, recently organized a tech fest called 'Jugaad'. The idea was for students to create something useful for society at low cost - any machine, gadget, accessory, or even a household item.

Over 2000 students from various schools & colleges of Kota participated in the event. Some of the different projects submitted include:

- A 3D printer costing just Rs. 10,000, created from used tools & software, by Neel Aundhia of MIT College

- A vacuum cleaner using air blower technology, old batteries & motor assembly, costing just Rs. 250, by Nishant & Jitendra, final year students of CPU.

- A high resolution smartphone projector using magnifying glasses, costing just Rs. 20, by rohan Sharma & Sovil, also final year students of CPU.

- Electrical students of CPU, Rajendra & Chirag, were able to successfully run an old 2-stroke engine with air compression instead of petrol. Prof. Pankaj Chawla of CPU said, "This technology can be widely used to reduce fuel consumption through renewable energy or alternate options."

- Rishabh Jain, of Global Public School, created gaming gloves to operate video games without touching, through sensors.

- Students of Maheshwari Public School & Global Public School also presented designs of bottle fountains, hydraulic lifts, drip irrigation, electrical locks, etc.

CPU's spokesman, Nishant Sharma, said that Rishabh Jain secured the first prize, Pratyush & team of St. Joseph's came second, and Nakulendra & team were third in the school category, 'Chhote Jugaad'. Amongst college students, Soumitra Tiwari & Naman Sharma were successful.

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NITK

Shubham Badal, currently a final year B. Tech student at NITK Surathkal, has created a search engine application that has been successful on multiple platforms across the world.

CybrHome, the application Shubham has created with two of his friends, provides information from top websites in a topical manner so as to allow easy discovery of information. The application has been accepted by Facebook for the FBStart programme, allowing them to use $30,000 worth services and Facebook tools for free. The app has also won Microsoft's BizSpark sponsorship for two years, and has emerged in the top 25 student start-ups at Tata-FirstDot powered by NEN.

Shubham, an ex-student of Allen Career Institute, informed that CybrHome is a portal where people can create a profile to store and bookmark the websites they have liked and use it to find the top websites, blogs & apps for any specific purpose.

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Kota's senior citizens discuss welfare of students in city

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As part of its 'Diwali Milan' ceremony, Allen Student Welfare Society arranged a talk show for senior citizens of over a dozen societies in Kota city. The discussion on 'Role of citizens in ensuring a clean image of Kota' called on the owners and landlords of rented accommodations and hostels to provide a family-like environment to the coaching students in Kota city.

Speakers at the show impressed on the participants about how to involve themselves in ensuring a good life for the students staying in Kota for coaching. Naveen Maheshwari, director, Allen Career Institute, said that Kota has been developing through the presence of students and the trust their parents have placed in the people of Kota. "We have to ensure a clean image of Kota in the field of education," he said. He continued that since students spend nearly 18 hours a day out of their classrooms, and at their residences, the residence owners and wardens must care for the students just like parents. P. B. Saxena, Sr. HOD, Allen Career Institute, said that students need family-like affection since they are studying away from their homes.

Kota Corporator Gopal Ram Manda said that everyone in Kota should take responsibility for the students - and everyone from street vendors to industrialists was attached to the students. A former industrial officer, RPS Chauhan, said that house owners should be in touch with the students' parents and inform them if the students were in any trouble or were facing any issues. He also called on the development committees of the local housing colonies to appoint security guards for public parks.

Some senior citizens requested that owners should interact with the students living in their establishments daily, so that students don't feel homesick or lonely. They also raised a need to provide good, filtered water at the hostels for the students.

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After Diwali break, Kota coaching returns on track

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After a long Diwali break, the coaching capital of the country is again abuzz as students have returned to the classrooms from their far-flung homes across the country.

The Diwali break is one of the major holiday breaks in the coaching institutes of Kota when students get ample time to visit their homes to celebrate the festival of light. Almost all the institutes in Kota stay closed for around a week to let students spend some time with their families back home. The vacation arrives mid-way during the academic year, hence students tend to make full use of this break. Naveen Maheshwari, director, Allen Career Institute, said that the break refreshes students for their further studies afterwards. The break started just before Diwali and continued for over a week.

Saumya Mehta, a student from Udaipur, said that the vacation was a big and welcome break for students as it happened mid-session. "Now the routine schedule has returned to the institute," she said.

Nitin Vijay, director, Motion Institute, said that their institute also had a week long Diwali break, helping students rejuvenate themselves and provide enough time for a self-assessment about their own preparations. "Students also get time during the vacation to prepare a strategy for the competitive exams in the next summer," he said.

Amit Kumar, a student from Agra, said that he enjoyed his break, spending time with his family members, particularly his parents and siblings. "The vacation leaves a positive impact on the students and reorients them for studies," he said.

Life has also returned to the local markets in Kota, in places like Talwandi, Vigyan Nagar, Indira Vihar, Kunhadi and others, which are known for being coaching student-centric habitats. Kota hosts over 1.25 lakh students from across the country for coaching in medical and engineering entrance examinations.

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Allen awards winners of Tallentex 2016 talent hunt exam

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Allen Career Institute organized a reward ceremony for the winners of the Tallentex 2016 talent hunt exam at the UIT auditorium in Kota on Sunday, November 29, 2015, where prizes worth Rs. 1.25 crore were distributed. Naveen Maheshwari, Director, Allen Career Institute, said that 2200 students were given cash rewards without any compulsion towards Allen. Archit Gupta (Class 11 (Bio)), Kritin Garg (Class 11) and Tarush Goyal (Class 10) topped the exam. The school level toppers were Nishant Abhangi (Class 9), Stitiprajna Sahoo (Class 8), Omm Agrawal (Class 7), Sanoj S. Vijendra (Class 6), and Aditya Anand (Class 5).

Brijesh Maheshwari, Director, Allen Career Institute, said that the tallentex exam not only assesses student's subject knowledge but also their capability of time management, mental ability and IQ. "We have assessed each and every child individually very carefully while making the reports i.e. scientific algorithm based Competitive Success Index (CSI) which was provided to every student along with the result", he said.

On this occasion, students received personal counselling and career guidance by experts through the Success Power Session. Sujit Kumar, from Ranchi, whose son B. Vritant (Class 5) got AIR 10, said that he never forced his son for impressive results. He said that Vritant would be helped by the CSI provided to select his field of interest in studies. Sheetal, a Class 6 student from Bhubaneswar, who got AIR 6, was also happy with the assessment she got from the Tallentex results.

Kota District Collector, Dr. Ravikumar Surpur, who was present at the occasion, said that the Kota coaching industry has given an economic boost to not only Kota but also the state economy. He said that students and parents have to understand the depth of competition, and that one cannot be judged based on a single examination. He called upon the parents to let their child be on their own instead of comparing their ward with other children. "Let your child be more logical, grow towards improving their interpersonal relationship quality," he said.

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Students appear for Phase 1 of Bansal's Boost Scholarship test

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Bansal Classes, Kota, organized the Phase 1 of their scholarship + admission test, Boost, across the country. The test was held on November 29, 2015, at 23 centres including cities like Kota, Jaipur & Ajmer.

AK Tiwari, Head (Administration), Bansal Classes, said that they would provide scholarships ranging up to 90% to successful students based on their preformance in the Boost Test. Students from Classes 7-10 aiming to prepare for NTSE, Olympiads, JEE etc. would benefit from the scholarship, as it would lead to comprehensive preparation of School + JEE coaching at Bansal Classes, explained Tiwari. Monishka Panchal, an aspirant, stated that she gave the test to be able to get a scholarship from Bansal Classes.

The first phase of Boost was on November 29, while the remaining phases will be on December 13, 2015 & January 10, 2016, at places like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, etc.

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Resonance PCCP students shine in Zonal Informatics Olympiad Stage I

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Students from Resonance's Pre-foundation Career Care Programme (PCCP) tasted success in the first stage of the Zonal Informatics Olympiad (ZIO), conducted by the Indian Association for Research in Computing Science.

Resonance PCCP Head Nilesh Gupta said that the ZIO is conducted in 3 rounds - the first is a written exam, with the second round being based on programming skills.

The written exam was held in 34 cities across the country on Sunday, November 15, 2015. From Rajasthan, only 4 students qualified in the first stage. All four students - Yash Gupta, Lay Jain, Pawan Goyal, and Lavish Gupta, are students of Class 10 in Resonance's PCCP division. Of these four, three are already representing India in the final round of the International Junior Science Olympiad 2015, to be held in South Korea.

Students who have qualified in the first stage of ZIO will be selected for the Indian National Olympiad in Informatics (INOI), a test based on programming skills in C, C++, or PASCAL, to be conducted on January 10, 2016.

25 students from the INOI will be selected for a training camp to be held in May-June 2016, and a team will be selected from these 25 to represent India at the International Olympiad in Informatics to be held in Kazan, Russia, in August 2016.

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Kota gears up to combat stress among students

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In an increasingly stressful environment, the coaching city of Kota is gearing up to defeat stress among students. Institutes and hostels have started yoga and meditation classes and many are also running motivational sessions between lectures.

About 1.25 lakh students from all over the country come to Kota for coaching every year. Most of these students stay alone in Kota during this period. The pressure they face to perform in their studies lead to stress. This has brought the coaching institutes to initiate several measures that help reduce it.

Allen Career Institute, Kota, has recently started regular Yoga and Meditation Classes at their campuses, alongwith the coaching. Naveen Maheshwari, Director, Allen Career Institute, said that the Yoga classes are run during mornings and evenings. "Yoga and meditation instil positivity and freshness in students, which is the key for education and student life," he said.

Namrata Sharma, a student from Varanasi, said that she achieved mental peace after attending the yoga classes and now she will try to better herself in it. Maheshwari also claimed that Allen is now running short cartoon movies during the breaks in classes to help students de-stress mid-lecture, and also organizing 'Samasya to Samadhan' sessions to address their problems.

Nitin Vijay, Director of Motion IIT classes, Kota, told PaGaLGuY that they recently organized an orientation session for faculty members, where an International Psychologist disseminated information on how to keep students stress free during education.

Similarly, AK Tiwari, Head of Administration at Bansal Classes, Kota, told PaGaLGuY that their institute's authorities keep having personal interactions with students to know their stress levels and try to keep them stress free.

Resonance Institute, Kota, is also organizing motivational sessions for reducing student stress, informed Nilesh Gupta, Head of their Pre-foundation Career Career Program. He said that recreational activities including sports are also available at the institute for students.

Career Point Institute, Kota, also organizes such stress management seminars regularly. Chairman and Managing Director of Career Point, Pramod Maheshwari, said that he would be taking a seminar soon on "How to ensure Stress Free success along with Class 12".

The hostels where students stay have also geared up for reducing stress. Gajendra Yadav, President of the Hostel Association of Kota, told PaGaLGuY that recently some hostels have started yoga classes for helping those students who get less time for workouts or exercises.

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Kota's coaching institutes proves mettle in Int Jr Science Olympiad in South Korea

Once again coaching institutes of Kota have proved their mettle in the International Olympiads as three students of Resonance coaching institute won a gold medal each, in the International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) held in South Korea this month.

The final round of the 12th IJSO conducted by HBCSE (Homi Bhabha Center for Science Education) was held in Daegu city in South Korea between 1st to 10th December 2015. A team of 6 students represented India in the final round of the competition. Out of these, 3 students (Yash Gupta, Lay Jain and Pawan Goyal) were from Resonance Prefoundation Career Care Programme (PCCP), while the other 3 were from Allen Career Institute.

CEO of Resonance, Asheesh Sharma, said "The selection criteria in the first round of IJSO has been changed since2014. Until last year, each state was allocated a limited number of seats to participate in the competition. However, this year, the minimum eligibility criteria was also applied. Hence, the distribution of seats was equal throughout the selection process, all across India.

The results of the final round were announced on 10th December 2015. A total 140 countries participated in the final round of IJSO. Among these, India stood at second place after Taiwan, in the series of the 'highest winning medals country'.

Among the 3 participants at IJSO, from Allen Career Institute, Lakshya Sharma and Bhaskar Gupta won a gold medal each, while Vidushi Varshney won the silver medal.

IJSO exam is held in 5 stages every year. The first round is conducted by IAPT (Indian Association of Physics Teachers) & other four are conducted by the HBCSE (Homi Bhabha Center for Science Education). First round is usually conducted in the month of November, second round in January- February, third round in May-June, fourth round in November month and Fifth/final round is conducted in the month of December.

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Words build bridges into unexplored regions - Adolf Hitler

We can help you use the power of your words to connect with the online community.

Do you want to be called a Writer? How do you like the ring of it?

PaGaLGuY has initiated certificate programmes and internships for engineering students to enhance their English speaking skills and simultaneously earn acclaim as a published online writer. We started off in August this year with one, part time programme in Digital Media which was then expanded into two integrated programmes; Certification in Digital Media and Internship in Creative Writing. In the past 4 months, since the inception of our programmes, we have received several interns looking to put their ideas across the world. You can read some of our intern articles here.

http://www.pagalguy.com/articles/new-iits-and-brand-dilution-36541384

http://www.pagalguy.com/articles/getting-into-an-iit-the-bleak-future-for-students-37600934

http://www.pagalguy.com/articles/engineering-a-dusk-a-dawn-36212788

http://www.pagalguy.com/articles/ahmedabad-to-trivandrum-a-journey-that-made-me-grow-37876821

Being India's largest community, we encourage our interns to expand their interactions with the engineering community and exchange triumphs and travails of their engineering journey. Some of our interns have now started their own blogs and are leading thought provoking discussions in the online world.

Over the course of the 2 month programme, students improve their English reading, writing and editing. They not only indulge in writing articles for our website, but also perform various practical exercises and solve case studies.

Now you may ask me that who would read articles by a newbie, budding writer?

I have a 2-word answer for that; Social Media.

Students are taught how to use the online medium like FB, Twitter, blogs, Google, SEOs, etc. to increase their follower base.

Afterall, those who realise the power of the online world, would agree;

A rumour can travel half way through the world wide web, before the truth has the chance to log on - A Victim of Social Media

So don't let your thoughts decay inside you. Bring them out to the world. This is a work from home opportunity which also gives you on-field experience.

We welcome writers into our programmes all throughout the year.

If you are interested in pursuing our Internship Programmes, then write your email IDs in the comments section below or drop me an email on [email protected] 

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FAQ's on JEE Mains 2016 gives aspirants sigh of relief

Coaching classes students in Kota, who initially faced issues while registering for JEE Mains, will now have some respite. JEE Main orgainisers have released FAQs to solve such issues of students.  

The FAQs consist of questions like, 'If a candidate has passed in 2014 and has appeared for improvement in 2015, what he will fill in the academic details section?' or 'Which thumb impression should be used while filling JEE Main 2016 form? Or 'What if a candidate has no thumb?'

Questions like these were looming in the minds of JEE Mains 2016 aspirants during registrations for the same. All such questions and many more similar ones have now been answered by the organizers of JEE Mains in the form of FAQ's. Counselor at Allen Career Institute, Amit Ahuja said, 'such FAQs about JEE Mains 2016 have relieved the aspirants to a great extent. They have also clarified that candidates have the leeway to decide as to which percentage of marks i.e. 2014 or 2015 would they prefer to select and mention the corresponding roll number in the first step of application form of JEE (Main).

One aspirant named Amit Kumar said that he was earlier confused about the use of thumb impression in registrations, but the FAQ's have given him an answer. FAQ's answered that the scanned image of left hand thumb impression (right hand thumb in case the candidates do not have left hand thumb, or any finger if both thumbs are not there) is to be uploaded during online submission of application form. However, if a candidate has uploaded the right hand thumb impression (by mistake), he/she need not worry as the form will not be cancelled because of this mistake and they will be issued admit card for appearing the exam. Another aspirant named Priyanka Thakur said that she has got answers to almost all her queries regarding registration of JEE Mains 2016.

On the question as to which contact number should an NRI or a foreign student enter in the form, the FAQ's have clarified that by stating, 'such candidates should enter the mobile number of his/her relative residing in India.'

Many more such examples of the FAQ's regarding JEE Mains 2016 can be seen on the website.

The offline JEE Mains 2016 examination will be held on 3rd April 2016 while Online examination will be held on 9th and 10th April 2016. The last date for application is 31st December.

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Bansal Classes, Kota puts rumours of merger with any institute to rest

Rumours were doing rounds, about a possible collaboration of Kota's Bansal Classes with another premier coaching institute earlier this year. However, Bansal Classes Kota has put such speculations to full stop, by openly denying any such possibility.

The website of the Bansal Classes Kota is flashing the information refuting any kind of merger with any coaching institute. "Bansal Classes has no 'Tie-Up' or 'Any kind of Merger' with any other institute of Kota or outside", the message flashed on Bansal Classes website. The message further says 'We are running our system under the banner of Bansal Classes Private Limited with best and energetic faculty team employed full time on our payroll'. Beware of the rumours spread by the competitors in this regard for the sake of admissions in their favour." Bansal Classes asserted in the message.

When PaGaLGuY spoke to the Administrative Head AK Tiwari, he confirmed the message of Bansal Classes. "Yes we are not merging whatsoever with any coaching institute of Kota or any other place." he said.

Bansal Classes Kota is a pioneer coaching institute of Kota which has achieved successive success in IIT-JEE over the years including giving All India Rank (AIR)-1 on 5 occasions in last 16 years who were all mentored by Director of Bansal Classes, Kota, VK Bansal. Satvat Jagwani of Bansal Classes Kota had achieved AIR-1 in JEE Advanced 2015.

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Allen's 18 students selected in Final round of IIT-Kanpur's 'Techkriti' Championship

Techkriti was started in 1995. But in 2016, for the first time, students of class 9th to 12th  will be allowed to participate in Techkriti .

'Techkriti', the annual technical and enterpreneur festival of IIT-Kanpur will be held from March 3 to March 6  2016. Competitions in various fields such as Robotics, Electronics, Business, Design, Coding, Aero-modelling, Online events (Crypto, Stocksim etc.) as well as Rubik's Cube are conducted.

Round 1 is a written exam judging students' Aptitude and General Awareness. Based on this test, 1000 students were asked to submit (online) the abstract of the project for Round 2.In the final round, 100 selected students will give a presentation about their abstract at IIT Kanpur. The students were divided into two groups. Group A had students of class 9th and 10th , while students of Class 11th and 12th were in Group B for each round.

Amit Gupta, head of PNCF division of Allen Career Institute of Kota, informed PaGaLGuY that 18 of their students have been selected for the final round of Techkriti to be held on 10 January 2016.

The mission of the competition is to strengthen and cultivate talent in the nation's schools at the grassroot levels and to build significant experience and knowledge in the students. This is done through a series of events involving mental aptitude, logic, and scrutiny which seeks to provide school students a platform to build fundamental experience and knowledge, to exercise co-ordination skills, and to think out of the box while providing solutions to practical problems.

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A fractured coaching structure in North-East India stirred Sikkim students to visit Kota

The need of a proper coaching system in the North-Eastern regions of India stimulated a one its kind initiative. Schools in Sikkim got together and sent about 150 students to experience the coaching culture of Kota. IIT aspirants of Sikkim are deprived of basic coaching facility.

Kota has become the education city of India and is also known as a coaching hub. These students were in Kota from December 17 to December 20, 2015. They interacted with Mr Pramod Maheshwari, Chief Managing Director of Career Point. He is one of the pioneers in development of Kota's coaching system, a renowned educationist, and a mentor.

These students visited all the units of Career Point coaching, Gurukul and University. They got a detailed insight of Kota's education system and the new initiatives taken to study in a stress free environment. They were also introduced with various technological advantages like imparting education through video lectures on Pen Drive and memory card.

While in conversation with Pramod Maheshwari, the group discussed in detail about 'How Kota has developed into a coaching hub'. He said, "Students from North -Easter region are increasingly fascinated towards the city's coaching system as they are deprived of quality education and an effective education system."

Today Kota's coaching system has created its own niche not only in India but also on the global map. Maheshwari in his interactive session conveyed the message to the students inspiring them to proceed with positive thinking and approach in life. Moreover, he also shared his experiences of being successful in life. When students asked questions related to their career goals, he enthusiastically cleared their doubts.

They visited a few tourist places within Kota varsity including Seven Wonders Park, Jawahar Sagar Dam and Bundi Fort. During the trip, they stayed at Career Gurukul.  One of the students of class 12 Rikjyal from Gangtok, said, "People at Gurukul are friendly and they make you feel comfortable. Here the overall environment is very good. It carries a vibe of motivation. It is a perfect place for studying."

Konishka, also a class 12 student, said, "Gurukul has a huge campus with an excellent infrastructure. The quality of food is very good in the campus. It seems to be a good place to study without any stress."

Students enjoyed a fun-filled trip, they participated in various cultural programs. They got a chance to interact with students at Career Point Gurukul and Career Point University; to discuss about various issues related to education and educational services.

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Blade Runner + Kargil Veteran and Solo Lady Bike Rider chip in to motivate students in Kota

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After sessions by academic and psychological experts to motivate students in Kota, now speakers from different walks of live are holding motivational sessions to curb stress and depression in the coaching city of Kota. Two such speakers recently held sessions at institutes like Allen Career Institute, Resonance, and Career Point.

Kargil Veteran Major DP Singh, who lost his leg during the conflict in 1999, called upon students to never quit even after meeting failure in studies, career or life. He inspired students to look beyond just examinations. "I failed in my school examinations and also in the NDA examination initially. Even then, I did not lose heart, and finally cracked the Combined Defence Services (CDS) Exam, and became an Officer in the Indian Army," he said. He had planned for a long and promising career in the Army, but losing his leg in the conflict brought those plans to a halt.

Singh did not quit after the mishap, and instead became a Blade Runner - an athlete who runs using a prosthetic foot known as a 'Blade'. "Life is beautiful, which is what motivates me to run. I have participated in 18 half marathons so far," he said. He called upon students to prioritise good thoughts to stay positive in life. Singh runs NGO called 'The Challenging Ones', with 900 amputee members, of whom 100 amputees participate in marathons to motivate others.

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Singh also gave a mantra to students, to pursue physical activities, make friends, and create a habit of giving and sharing with others, among other positive ideas. In an interactive session, students also asked him questions about how to stay positive. Shweta Pradhan, a student, asked him about combating study pressures, to which he replied that students should focus on positive thoughts instead of negative ideas.

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Sana Iqbal, a 27 year old solo bike rider, also ran a public awareness campaign against suicides. A psychology graduate from Osmania University, Hyderabad, Iqbal has been on a cross-country trip since November last year, to raise awareness about depression and suicide. Starting from Goa, she has since covered over 8,500 km across 30 cities.

Iqbal said that suicides are not a solution to problems in life. "I was severely depressed in life after my marriage did not work out. But here I am, talking about depression with you," she said. A corporate behavioural trainer, she said that she has held seminars at over 70 educational institutions during her trip, on the issue of combating depression. "A suicide is the murder of an individual by the society," she believes, "The person who committed suicide is the victim of the apathy of society."

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Resonance student shines in sports, bags medal in national tournament

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After achieving successes in engineering and medical entrance exams, the coaching students of Kota are excelling in sports as well. A student of Resonance Insitute, Ayan Ahmad Sheikh, won the Bronze Medal in the CBSE All India Softball Tournament held at Chhatrasal Stadium, New Delhi on January 6-10, 2016.

Nilesh Gupta, PCCP Head, Resonance Eduventures, said that their students have been proving their mettle in sports tourneys alongwith competitive exams. "Ayan won the medal at the School Games Federation of India tournament," he said. 14 years old, Ayan is a Class 8 student of Resonance's PCCP programme. Gupta also claimed that Ayan was the only student from Kota to be selected in the All India Softball Team. "Our institute focuses not only on academics, but also sports activities for the students' overall grooming," he explained.

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Smartphones become favoured recreation resource for coaching students

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Smartphones may have become an addiction for some people in today's era, but for the stressed-out coaching students in Kota city, they are a favourite mode of recreation between their studies.

Coaching students spend nearly half their waking hours in studies, like attending classes or doing homework. To de-stress and for recreation, students are increasingly spending some time on their smartphones while at their hostels or PG accommodations. Other than a TV at their residence (a common one in hostels, at that), students have very few options to relax themselves during their busy study schedules. Hence, smartphones provide them some relaxation.

Vaibhav Gupta, a student, said that their strenuous schedule leaves little time for recreation, so they take some time out to relax using their smartphones. "When we get bored of studies, we listen to music or surf on the internet using our phones," he explained. Shailendra Kumar, another student, informed that they download movies and videos to watch at leisure, and also connect with friends on social networks like WhatsApp and Facebook. There isn't enough space or time for physical activities or sports, hence smartphones prove to be a good entertainer during their stay in Kota, he said. "Sometimes, we also end up grabbing knowledge from the internet!" he claims.

With Android smartphone models available at throwaway prices, students can easily afford the devices. Free Wi-Fi zones in malls and public spaces help students make use of the internet while being low on the pocket too.

On the other hand, coaching institutes consider smartphones a double edged sword. Rakesh Sharma, Sr. Manager, Vibrant Academy, said that most students can afford smartphones hence they use the devices for entertainment purposes. "Excess of anything is considered harmful. Similarly, excessive usage of mobile phones is bad - not just for students but for anyone. Students should make rational use of their smartphones," he opined.

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Kota institutes emerge as cradles to talent from humble backgrounds http://i.imgur.com/vtcgThU.jpg Kheraj Ram Choudhary with his father. ~Selection in JEE, AIPMT or any such entrance exams is no longer a privilege limited to students from affluent backgrounds. Children from families of poor backgrounds, with parents working as railway porters, farmers, rickshaw drivers, labourers, vegetable vendors, etc. have been getting admission in premier education institutions of the country with the help of coaching institutes in Kota. ~Chetan Regar's father sold vegetables on his cart in the by-lanes of Kota. He did not even have an electricity connection at home. Yet, with financial assistance and encouragement from his coaching institute, Resonance, Chetan was able to crack the IIT-JEE five years ago. RK Verma, MD, Resonance Institute, offered him financial assistance for coaching, while a private school in Kota provided free schooling. Verma feels that talent from every corner must be given an equal opportunity, irrespective of their financial status. ~At a time when no one else was convinced he would do well, Chetan succeeded and joined IIT Jodhpur. He is not the lone coaching student who succeeded, battling the odds of life. Two years ago, Aakash Kumar, the son of Swaran Singh, an auto driver, succeeded in cracking the JEE (Advanced) 2013. Dinesh Verma suffers from Polio and is the son of a construction labourer in Kota, but he also cracked JEE (Advanced) 2013. Both were helped in their endeavours by Bansal Classes. VK Bansal, Director, Bansal Classes, said that he too studied under the light from lanterns, with many challenges in the initial phase of his life. Hence, he makes it an effort to support students who are deprived in life. ~ http://i.imgur.com/lgSvgFw.jpg Aakash Kumar with his father Swaran Singh ~This year too, several students from humble financial and family backgrounds were able to succeed in engineering and medical entrance exams. Kapil Gautam, the son of a truck driver from Tonk, Rajasthan, was able to score an All India Rank of 440 in the AIPMT 2015. Kheraj Ram Choudhary of Barmer, Rajasthan, the son of a railway porter, also scored AIR 285 in AIPMT 2015. Both were students of Allen Career Institute and claimed to have been given financial assistance from the institute. ~Ramchandra Sankhala, a porter's son from Sojat, Rajasthan, had scored AIR 1680 in IIT-JEE in 2010. Currently, he works at Google and is getting a salary package of Rs. 36 Lakh annually. He studied at Allen Career Institute during his coaching days. Recently, he visited Kota to motivate students. He said that he achieved his goals only because of the financial assistance and coaching he received, which helped him focus on the exam and not worry about anything else. ~There is a long list of such talented students who have been able to do well in their lives, even though they have come from humble backgrounds, after the coaching institutes in Kota have helped them succeed in both engineering and medical entrance exams.