Kapeesh Saraf

Engineering -fascination. JEE preparation. Underestimate competition. Failure, dismay and dejection. COEP-last choice institution. Lack of elation. 6 months-isolation. Depression. Lack of direction. Teenage infatuation. Indifferent reaction. Confidence erosion. Normalization. Club formation. Officious administration. Frustration. Dogged dedication. Grand vision. Patchy realization. Difference of opinion. Resignation. Everlasting love relation? Immoral accusation. Shame and depression. New Venture formation. Evangelization. Successful- recognition. Limitations-realization. Interest deterioration. New quarry – instant attraction. Summer flirtation. Positive reaction. Above my league -self underestimation. Hope evaporation. Determination . Affirmation. Jubilation. Rapturous preoccupation. Yet another project application. Selection. ATV creation. Victory -Bacchanalian celebration. Career confusion. MS application. Await admits – trepidation. Dream admission. Admiration & Speculation. Satisfaction. Hold celebration -long way to destination. Still going strong. Extrapolation?

(Inspired from here.)

I have often heard engineers say that they learnt more during their final year projects of 6 months than they did in the remaining three and a half years of college put together. This statement is generally used as a means to undermine classes compared to “practical” experience. For all these years, I (like most people) have accepted this as gospel.We’re studying engineering, and not getting anything and the grass is always greener on the other side. Hence, proved.

However, now that I am in the final year my views are beginning to change (only slightly, and I still think that in general, college sucks). The way our (mechanical engineering) course is structured is that in the first 2, or 2 and a half years, all we do is learn fundamentals in very diverse areas. This, unfortunately but very understandably, is done as terribly as possible. We study the pulp after the last drop of juice has been extracted from the fruit. Worse, there is no “big picture” thinking or synthesis involved, so we (or atleast I) had no clue as to how the pieces would fit together.

Now the courses in the last 2 semesters (before the project) are high level courses. These tend to involve (slightly) big picture thinking and synthesis.So every once in a while, there is the a!ha moment- here’s why we studied all that shit back then. So over the last couple of weeks I’ve had this feeling that I’m actually learning quite a bit or atleast more than i did in previous semesters. Perhaps it has to do with having mastered the system to get quicker results or easier courseload.

But my guess is that these “last mile” courses of the final year or the work that we would do during our projects just build up on and apply this strong foundation of basics that we have (supposedly) built in the last 3 years. It is not that students learn nothing in the first three years. The utter lack of synthesis makes it hard and sometimes ( as is the case for me ) impossible to make sense of what is happening. When we can make a little sense of it all and “do”/”create” something, we fill that we have learnt everything through just that exercise and everything before that was just worthless.

As to mechanical engineering, so to everything in life.

That, or I have it all wrong.

As for the title: Ask any final year engineering student – 4 saal tune kya kiya?

(other likely answers are not appropriate for this blog)