Students on the threshold of making a career choice received advice on the means to make their dreams come true by professionals and achievers from different walks of life at The Hindu Education Plus Career Counselling 2023 held in the city on Sunday, June 11.
The event was held at the Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering and Deputy Commissioner Dr. K.V. Rajendra, who was the chief guest, called upon the students to pursue their dreams and not lose hopes due to minor setbacks.
He said failures will become a stepping stone to success provided there was a sincere analysis of the reasons behind the failures followed by efforts to bridge the gap that led to the setback.
Mr. Rajendra emphasised the importance of clarity of vision in what one wished to pursue and said a strong foundation based on knowledge and education was critical for embarking on a successful career.
The Deputy Commissioner said there was no dearth of opportunities but what was important was planning and adhering to it and this called for discipline.
For those preparing for competitive examinations, habit of newspaper reading is mandatory and should become a second nature so as to be well-informed and a cut above the rest, said Mr. Rajendra.
Ameen e-Mudassar, career counsellor and CEO of CIGMA said aptitude, personality or attitude and skills were important for a successful career and students should identify them early and figure out what they wish to do. He said students and those preparing for a career should not only dream of what they wish to attain but also nurture the dream and give themselves a chance.
He touched upon a slew of courses covering various streams both conventional and non-conventional – in Humanities, Science and Commerce besides the new age courses and career options. The thrust was on development and acquisition of skill sets and Mr. Ameen e-Mudassar pointed out that in the present times, multiple options were available for students to enrich their skills through online courses apart from the offline courses in varsities. Mr. Ameen called upon the students to develop problem solving, critical thinking and adaptability besides communication and teamwork as part of new skills and said these skills will be beneficial regardless of the specific career path they choose.
Prof. B. Sadashive Gowda, Principal, Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering, gave a snapshot of engineering education and the choices available for students and pointed out that there were nearly 1.13 lakh engineering seats available for students in Karnataka. Prof. Sadashive Gowda touched upon job opportunities in different streams and spoke on the criteria for selecting a college for admission such as infrastructure, placement records, faculty, ranking and reputation besides location.
Vinay Kumar, Founder and Director of Insights IAS said students should make the best use of the platform provided by the educational institutions to become a better version of themselves and gain skills and competence to beat the competition. He said apart from knowledge, ones personality and the ability to withstand pressure and critical thinking was important.
Dr. S.N. Manjunath, Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Mysore Medical College and Research Institute and N. Udayshankar, Nodal Officer KEA Helpline, Mysuru were part of the expert panel who answered students queries. A career guidance handbook published by The Hindu was also released and distributed to the participants.
