Co-curricular Activities 2016-17

College-Corporate Partnership for Youth Employability

The College-Corporate partnership for youth employability moved on to the second phase where the trained students were assisted with placement service by the faculty of Technoserve India Pvt. Ltd., and the Placement Cell of Mahatma Night Degree College of Arts and Commerce, Chembur, Mumbai.

A Whats app group was created in January 2016 adding the contacts of all the trained certified students of the YEP – Youth Employability Programme. The administrators of the group are faculty of YEP (Barsha Bora and Priyanka) and placement incharge of the college Dr. Lata Krishnan. Barsha announced job opportunities on the Whats app group and invited interested students to respond on the group. Dr. Lata Krishnan contributed by announcing job opportunities on the group. This is an effective way in which continuous contact and communication is maintained and the placement activity is going on smoothly. As of now 4 students are placed and over 50 students have attended interviews in tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 companies. The Placement activity is an ongoing activity and will continue till the end of this semester, (End of October 2016).

The students attended interviews of the following companies:

  1. Aaditya Birla Group, 50 students registered and 18 students attended the interview.
  2. Sterling Backcheck, 9 students attended the interview.
  3. Tata Business Support, Job Profile – Customer Support Associate, Salary 8K – 20K per month
  4. Tech Mahindra, Chandivali, 2 students attended the interview and both got selected. Sagar Waghmare and Venkatesh Naidu
  5. Andromeda Sales and Distribution, Company Profile – Deals in all types of loans and has tie up with 25 banks, Job Profile – Business Development Executive, Salary 13,500 + incentives
  6. Bharati Axa, Job Profile – Insurance sales, Salary 1.8 lakhs p.a.
  7. ABG, Andheri East
  8. Here Solutions, 5 students attended the interview and one got selected, Akshay Mane
  9. Indigo, Profile – Cabin crew attendants, Salary 32,000 for 40 hours of flying per month. Extra pay for any additional hour of flying.
  10. HDFC, Job Profile – Branch Sales Officer, Salary – 10k to 12k + incentives.
  11. Bajaj Capital Ltd., Job Profile – Sales Executive, Salary – 25,000 – 27,000 per month.
  12. Indexia Finserve Pvt. Ltd., Loan and financial services company authorized to work with 22 Banks, Job Profile – Team Manager, Salary – 12k – 20k per month.
  13. SMC Online, Job position – Relationship Officer, Salary 1.8 to 2.4 lakhs p.a.
  14. Reliance Fresh, Position – Executive Trainee, Salary 1.8 lakhs p.a., 5 attended the interview, 1 got selected – Vinod Gajre.
  15. Accenture (Tier 1), Back Office role, Operations Analyst, Fleet Analyst, Fleet Service Analyst, Transaction Processing Representative for Healthcare Review, Medical Billing Representative, Salary 1.64 lacs per annum, 3 students attended interviews.
  16. Hinduja Global Services, Job Profile – HR Trainee, Salary – 1.42 lacs
  17. Synergy Relationship Management (Subsidiary of Quest Masterclass), Position – International Business Development management trainee
  18. Angel Broking, Job Profile – Executive for Customer Sales Service, Salary 10 – 18k per month.
  19. ICICI Lombard, Position – Customer Relation Manager (Back Office), Salary 1.75 lakhs p.a. 10 students attended the interview.
  20. Footprints (A background check company), Job Profile – Analyst, Report Writer, Data Entry Operator, Salary 12k per month. 6 students attended the interview. One student got selected – Mahesh Bendre
  21. Vertex BPO, Ghansoli (inbound processes)
  22. DHL Logistics, Vikhroli West, Back Office Executive, Salary – 8 – 10k per month. 8 students attended the interview.
  23. Fino Paytech Ltd., (Solutions providers for banks, government and insurance companies), Role – Field Officer, Salary 10,000 to 15,000 per month. 8 students attended the interviews.
  24. Birla Sunlife Insurance Ltd., Job Role – Agency Manager, Salary 2.6 lacs per annum.
  25. TCS, WIPRO, ACCENTURE, CAPGEMINI, Role – Customer Care Executive (inbound or outbound or back office), Salary 10,000 to 15,000 per month. 11 students attended the interview.
  26. Customer Service Executive for Middle East Process at Mahape Location, Job Description – Outbound calling, Salary – 18,000 per month.
  27. ICICI Prudential, Position – Financial Services Consultant, Salary – 2.3 lacs per anum. 13 students attended the interview.
Guest Lecture on A Special Discourse on Public Finance

Department of Economics of Mahatma Night Degree College invited Dr. Aditya Srinivas for a discourse on “Public Finance and Role of Capital Market” on 22nd June, 2016. The discourse was very important for T.Y.B.Com. final year students as their entire Business Economics syllabus is based on public finance and its administration. The primary objective of this talk was to help the students to understand the role of capital market in financing the public debt. Dr. Aditya Srinivas is a Chief Economist and Chief Operating Officer of Bombay Stock Exchange’s Brokers Forum. He has presented 32 research papers in the national and international journals and authored two books. He had been a part of many important committees including Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Committee during PM Manmohan Singh’s tenure.

On 22nd June, Dr. Aditya Srinivas reached the college at 6.45 p.m. He had been served the snacks and subsequently Asst. Prof. Harsh Shukla requested Dr. Aditya Srinivas to come to T.Y.B.Com. class where students were wainting. The program started with formal introduction of Dr. Aditya Srinivas by Asst. Prof. Harsh Shukla. Subsequently, Principal Dr. Padma Rangan felicited Dr. Aditya Srinivas with a floral tribute. Dr. Aditya Srinivas covered various aspects of public finanance and how capital market can help the government in the case of deficit. Further, he elaborated the challenges of the Indian Economy and its challenges because of its integration with world economy. His talk left the student spellbound. After the completion of the lecture, a formal vote of thanks was TY Student Ashwini Kale.

Spoken English Classes - Teach India Programme

English for Employability
Mahatma Night Degree College of Arts and Commerce, Chembur partnered with the Teach India Programme to organize Spoken English Classes for the students of the second year students of the B.Com. course.
The objective was to help students imporove in spoken English. English for Employability being the aim, Principal Dr. Padma Rangan contacted Mentor and Master Trainer of the Teach India Programme Mr. Farokh Jijina. Mr. Jijina visited the college in the third week of June 2016 with other master trainers to check the feasibility of delivering the programme. He identified the learners, teacher volunteers and the NGO partner from within our college itself!

The Spoken English Programme is the 100 days (2 hours a day) programme spread over 3 months. Two volunteers conduct classes on alternate days from Monday through Saturday. The timings fixed for Mahatma Night Degree College second year B.Com. students is 5.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The classes are conducted in room number 402 for 27 students.

It was decided to train the faculty of the college to participate as vounteers to deliver this programme along with one outside volunteer offerd by the Teach India Coordinator.

Professor Tushar Pawar has completed his training programme attending all day sessions on Friday, Saturday and Sundy (three long weekneds) in July 2016 and is now a certified trainer to deliver the Spoken English course of the Teach India Programme. Dr. Lata Krishnan and Dr. Padma Rangan are scheduled to attend the September batch to train to become teacher voulnteers of this programme.

Professor Tushar Pawar and Ms. Kiran are the volunteers delivering the programme to 27 students of the second year B.Com. students. This group of 27 students was selected after conducting a test from amongst the large (68 students) interested group of students. The written test helped identify the students who needed the “Spoken English” course. This elimination test is mandatory and is conducted before the course commences.

The programme is progressing well and should conclude by the end of this semester (end of October 2017).

Mentor and Master Trainer Farokh Jijina monitor the programme delivery closely and the course is meticulously delivered.

The students are enthusiastic and enjoy the interactive sessions and activities in the class. The programme will continue during the Ganpati holiday break.

More about the Teach India Programme… http://ww.itimes.com/teach-india/initiative

Times of India (published by Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd. India) is the leading Daily Newspaper in India and the Teach India Programme is run by the CSR division of Times of India. British Council was approached by Times of India in 2010 to partner them in the Project ‘Teach India’ as content and knowledge partner.

Being the knowledge partner in the project has allowed British Council to multiply its impact through a very effective partnership model. Further the project has showcased a model through which hard to reach segments can be accessed for delivery of a course which has high demand and impact.

The programme aims to give learners the confidence to use English in contexts such as retail, customer service, travel and hospitality, financial services and job interviews.

Members of the public volunteer to join Teach India and are given a 50-hour training course in learner-centred teaching techniques and activities, practised through micro-teaching. They then train classes of learners for three months, using the English for Employability course.

Batches of training start every four months in Mumbai and Delhi.

Objectives of the programme are:

  • Improve levels of English teaching and learning among disadvantaged communities through a network of NGOs.
  • Develop a sustainable and scalable model for delivering relevant English Language Skills to targeted youth within these communities, to enhance their employability.
  • Engage and enable volunteers to deliver the English language course to students effectively.

The key activities are:

  • Developing a volunteer training curriculum and relevant content to enhance the English language teaching methodology of volunteers.
  • Delivering a three month volunteer training programme; these volunteers, in-turn, deliver a 120 hours course to learners.
  • Developing and deploying customised ‘English for Employability’ course curriculum, content and relevant materials for learners.
  • Volunteer training programme and workshops are followed by monitoring visits, feedback and evaluation by British Council ELT (English Language Training) specialists.
  • Selection, Training and Development of Mentors and Master Trainers to make the programme self-sustaining.

The Programme: The Times Group launched Teach India as an initiative to teach spoken English to the youth belonging to the underprivileged sections of the urban society. British council has been brought on board for designing the curriculum and for training the volunteers and teachers who will be imparting the curriculum to the learners. The curriculum for the course has been designed keeping in mind the present language levels of the target segment and the spoken English requirements of potential employers. The Times Group pro-actively attempts to build a bridge between the learners and the potential employers and connect the two. On completion of the course, the learners get a certificate which is jointly certified by both The Times Group and British Council.

A typical target learner: Is between 18 to 35 year of age. Has had basic introduction to English but never used it in daily life. Seeks to improve employability through the course.

Learner: The ability to converse in English opens the doors to employment in various sectors. The learners undergo the training on spoken English and the target of the training is to make them job-ready in terms of spoken English requirements. The team will also ensure access to suitable employment opportunities.

Volunteer: The initiative aspires to involve as many volunteers as possible to teach spoken English to the learners. Spoken English classes are held in the NGO premises, or centres supervised by the NGOs. Three to four batches of two hours each are held in a day and there are 20 learners in each of these batches. The overall the program will be flexible about the class timings and they will vary with different NGOs.
Since the spoken English classes run 6 days in a week over a 100 day period, we have planned for two volunteers to teach one batch on alternate days. Thus every volunteer will have to take classes for approximately 60 hours spread over 100 days. Since the initiative requires the volunteer to make substantial time commitment, we believe that only the open-eyed volunteers will step up to the challenge and be a part of the initiative.

NGO: The initiative is implemented on the ground by partner grassroots NGOs, mostly working in urban slums. These partner NGOs have been carefully selected and the Times Group supports them on multiple fronts including training and not just financially. These partner NGOs are responsible for organizing the spoken English classes, getting the learners in the classrooms, and managing the day-to-day affairs. The NGOs we have selected are currently working with our target learner group on skill building or vocational training. The NGOs have a community mobilizer / coordinator to gather learners and also to coordinate with the volunteers.

Curriculum: British Council has designed a 120 hour spoken English curriculum which is to be taught over a period of 100 days. Learners attend 2 hour sessions each day, 6 days a week for 100 days. Each 2 hour session comprises of one chapter or unit in the curriculum. The curriculum has a learner-focused approach, with the teacher acting as a facilitator rather than a dispenser of knowledge. Collaborative learning methodologies have been extensively used. After a set of modules on strengthening core spoken English, the learners are trained on the use of language in IT and in customer service scenarios. Even the assignments in the curriculum are based on examples from relevant industries like retail, financial services, hospitality, etc. All these will ensure that the curriculum is very industry relevant. Thus the curriculum is designed to make the learners “ready for job” on completion of the course. Since the curriculum is specifically designed keeping in mind our target segment of learners and employers, and since British Council has designed various teaching methodologies that have proved very effective in the past, we believe that a training session is essential for NGO teachers and volunteers who will be teaching our curriculum in the NGO classrooms. Hence a commitment of 8 days for training is also expected from volunteers and teachers prior to the start of the cycle.

There is an additional module ‘Face the World’ that focuses on soft skills and interview skills, to equip the learners to perform better at interviews.

Journey so far: The pilot was run in Mumbai in 2011. The British Council training was from 29th April to 20th May, 2011. The teaching cycle started with 89 batches, 812 learners and 148 volunteers. We are now looking forward to our 14th cycle with 100 batches and hoping to tap over a 1000 learners.

Complimentary Training Program with BSE

Complimentary Training Program Mahatma Night Degree College in Collaboration with Bombay Stock Exchange
The Mahatma Night Degree College of Arts and Commerce conducted a “Complimentary Training Program on Overview of Financial Markets” in collaboration with Bombay Stock Exchange for T.Y.B.Com. Students. This program is inititated by Central Government of India and implemeted through the Bombay Stock Exchange.

It was a short term program of six days (Batch of Maximum 40 studetns) with objectives of creating awareness about the Indian capital market and thus create future investors. The program consists of 4 theory sessions at college and 2 pratical sessions at BSE’s broker forum. The program was jointy organised by Department of Commerce and Economics. The program co-ordinators were Asst. Prof. Anaya Markandeya and Asst. Prof. Harsh Shukla at college and Miss. Shenaz Sheikh from BSE.

The course started with the batch of 45 students from 18th to 21st July, 2016. The second batch with 25 students commenced on 25th to 29th July, 2016. These theory session were conducted by Mr. Kaushal Mishra who works as a consultant, training and development, at BSE. The topics covered during his session were:

  1. Working of stock markets
  2. Mutual Funds
  3. Derivative Markets
  4. Commodity Market and Currency Markets

The BSE visits for the the above batches were organised from 4th and 5th August (12 p.m. to 1 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. to 2.30 p.m.) and 10th and 11th August (11.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.).

The above practical sessions were conducted by Dr. Aditya Srinivas who is the Chief Economist and Chief Operating Officer of Bombay Stock Exchange’s Brokers Forum. He guided the students on following topics:

  1. Indian Economy
  2. Monetary Policy and its implications
  3. Fundamental Analysis
  4. Current Developments

The valedictory program is scheduled on 31st August, 2016 in which the students who have successfully completed the course will be issued certificates from the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Nature Club Inauguration

As a part of co-curricular and extra-curricular activity Asst. Professor Tushar Pawar (Head Department of Environmental Studies) and students of Mahatma Night Degree College of Arts and Commerce established a Nature Club in our College. The objective of the Nature Club isto make the students and staff aware about the environmental issues and how to overcome the environmental problems.

The Nature club was inaugurated by Mrs. Rashmi Joshi from Stree Mukti Sanghtna and Principal of Our College Dr. Padma Rangan on 27th August, 2016.

Our Principal Dr. Padma Rangan welcome guest by offering sapling of rose as a token of love and appreciation and address gathering about importance of Nature Club and how it will function in our college.

Informative lecture was delivered by Mrs. Rashmi Joshi on waste management and highlighted issues of waste and how manage it in scientific way. She highlighted Deonar dumping ground issues.

After her lecture we had a small meeting with the students and interested students filled membership form of Nature Club to become official member of the Club. After that we discussed the projects which we can undertake as Nature Club activity. Mrs. Rashmi Joshi appreciated our initiative to save and conserve environment.

At the end of the session Asst. Professor Tushar Pawar proposed vote of thanks to our resource person Mrs. Rashmi Joshi, Principal Dr. Padma Rangan, Management, teaching and non-teaching and students.

Valedictory Function of Youth Leadership and People Skills Programme
Date: 30th September, 2016
Venue: Room No. 401

As the delegates member of the college to conduct the Youth Leadership and People Skills Programme. It was a bridge educational programme underlined to inculcate value system and decision making power organised in collaboration with Centre for Lifelong Learning (Tata Institute of Social Science, Deonar).

58 students registered and 17 students successfully completed fulfilling all the parametres decided by the organizers. It was a 45 hours session to be completed in six months. The teaching slots were well planned and assigned to obtain the maximum results. After the completion each module the progress of the curriculum was assessed in three steps such as self-assessment, peer assessment and teacher assessment.

The programme was successfully completed on 15th August, 2016 and the certificate conferment function was decided to be held on 30th September, 2016.

On 30th September 2016, at 4.30 p.m. the function was started in the august presence of Prof. Nasreen Rustomfram (Chairperson, Centre for Lifelong Learning (Tata Institute of Social Science, Deonar), Dr. C. Saigita (Programme Co-ordinator, Centre for Lifelong Learning (Tata Institute of Social Science, Deonar), Asst. Prof. Amit Yadav (Mulund College of Commerce), Mr. G. T. Ochani (Deputy CEO, Mahatma Education Society, Chemburcampus), Dr. Padma Rangan (Principal, Mahatma Night Degree College of Arts and Commerce, Chembur) in the class room on the fourth floor.

After the welcoming speech by the Principal Dr. Padma Rangan, the Programme trainer Asst. Prof. Tushar Pawar in his presentation narrated how the course was organised and conducted. Followed by that Prof. Nasreen addressed the gathering and collected feedback from the student participants. Certificates were distributed to the qualified students by the chief guest.

A vote of thanks was proposed by the Principal Dr. Padma Rangan before conclusion of programme.

Nature Trail

Date: 19th October, 2016
Venue: Soonabai Pirojsha Godrej Marine Ecology Centre, Vikhroli

As a part of curriculum department of Environmental Studies and Nature Club of our college jointly organised the Nature trail at Soonabai Pirojsha Godrej Marine Ecology Centre, Vikhroli. 35 students from our college were registered to be a part of this trail. The main objective of this programme was to understand the importance of mangrove ecosystem, what are mangroves, how and why to conserve them and how they balance our ecosystem. We are obliged to Mr. Hemant Karkhanis who took a keen interest in explaining all about the mechanism of mangrove ecosystem and responsibility of youth and citizen to conserve them and maintain a health of environment.

The programme co-ordinator found quality time for a doubt clearing session for the participants. He took the participants to their centre and showed photo gallery comprising of various ecological facts, mangrove plants, birds and fauna.

The participants found very much interacted and they utilized this opportunity to understand the nature more.