Sunil Karve
An academic programme builds a foundation for the future; it is imperative therefore, to take the maximum benefit from the programme one has enrolled for.You may have selected a programme due to a variety of reasons: performance in examinations and / or influence of your parents / peers or media. No matter what the reason may be, once you have enrolled into a programme it is important for you to start focussing on gaining knowledge.
Firstly, understand the structure of the entire programme by finding a brief introduction to each subject.
Secondly, get your fundamentals clear and then concentrate on the rest eg for a commerce student, understanding the three golden rules of Accounting is of utmost importance - the rest of the subject then becomes easier.
The same learning principle applies to every subject. The amount of learning you will take home depends a lot on the approach you adopt towards the programme.
A few pointers:
Adopt a positive attitude
Relate all learning to day-to-day incidences - Make this a habit
Focus on gaining knowledge and not scoring marks
Participate in extra-curricular and co-curricular activities
Facts about learning:
It happens everywhere and all the time
It can be never be a waste
An open mind facilitates better learning
It is easy to blame the academic system and focus on the flaws of the curriculum. You may feel that some subjects have no apparent relevance, but interactions with faculty and senior/past students will unfold the practical relevance of such subjects. Such interactions will enrich your knowledge base.
Learning can never be a waste. If your search for knowledge is driven by an inner drive to excel rather than a focus on marks - success will surely follow.
Sunil Karve is the Founder Trustee and Vice-Chairman of The MET League of Colleges. Reach him on skarve_trust@met.edu
