Thisintentionofthisdocumentistohelpanswerthequestionthathasbeen

knowntoplaguepeopleforquitesometimenow.

WhatdoIdoaftermyfirstyearoncampus?
HowdoImakethebestoutofthesummerinhand?

Afterayearoffoundationcourses,onewouldtypicallydevelopenoughofa
basetogetstartedwithexplorationsindifferentareasofacademicinterest.
Theaimofthisdocumentistopassdownvaluableresourcestotoolsand
fieldthatonecanjumpinto.

Ifyouhaveanythingtocontribute,feelfreetobrieflyjotdownwhatyou
haveinmindundertherelevantheader.Domentiontheprerequisitesand
attachalinkthatllbetterguidepeople.DoleaveyourMailIDifyouare
willingtoguidepeopleonthesame.
Color
thenameofthetopicthatyouare
talkingabouttohelppeople.Also,makeasubtopics,etctoaidinthe
organizationofthedocforaninterdisciplinary/vastfieldlike
robotics/coding.Illtrymybesttoformatandmaintainuniformityacross
thedocument.

Youcangetmanytechnicalebookson
libgen.org
for
FREE.

Engineering

Electronics, Instrumentation, Electrical & Communication

Engineering

Priyans(Goa)
Buylotsof
hardware
.Startmakingcircuitssmallcircuits.Buy

Arduinoboards,Solderwires,resistorscapacitors.SetupasmallDIYLab.
Buysensors,radios,playaroundexperimentwithit.MakeLEDsblink,
makethingsmove,doallsortsofcoolstuffwithit.
Ifyouwanttoknowwheretobuyhardwarefrom.
(Forseriouspeoplewhowouldwanttosetupalabintheirfhostelrooms/
homes
http://goo.gl/vag4A
)
Hack
yournormalelectronicappliances,breakthemopen,seehowthey
work,understand,readandblogaboutit.
Ifyouaretheonewhowouldnotwanttobuyhardwareorarenotintothis
sortofthing,learn
PCBdesigning
.OpensourcetoolslikeKDiCadare
available,oryoucouldstartwithEagletoo.
Lookforinterestingcircuitstodesign,getthemfabricated.Solder
componentsonthemandplayaway!

IfyouarestillnotintoPCBdesigningorhackingcircuits,experimentwith
Pspice(YoumusthavealreadylearntitduringES1course).Start
simulating
biggerandbigger
circuits
.Moveontocomplicatedcircuits!Movetotoolslike
ProteusandCadence.

Learn
VHDL,Verilog
.Theseareproperlanguageswhichuseprogrammingto
simulatehardware.Resourcesareallavailableonline,getstarted!Youcan
buildallsortsofcoolstuff,likesimulatinghardwarewhichishighly
optimizedtorunimageprocessingalgorithms.Youneedtoappreciatethe
beautyofdigitallogicandcircuitrytolovethis.Publishallyourcodeson
GitHub!

Evenifthisdoesnotinspireyoutodosomething,
readuplatestresearch
going
oninfieldslikeMEMS,Nanotech,Bionics,MaterialSciences,Biosensor
systems.Iamsureyouwillbeintriguedbyoneoftheseareas.

Sayifyouhaveidentifiedoneareaasyourkeeninterest,readupwhatsort
ofworkisgoingon,whatpeopleareactuallydoing.Visit
Instructables
,
Hacka

day
,
Arduinoblogs
etctogetinsoitatIinforideas.Whateveritis,keep

blogging!Letpeopleknowwhatyouaredoing,iftheyknow,theywillcome
andhelpyou.

Contact:f2010310@goa.bitspilani.ac.in

Bittu(Goa):

Firstthingsfirst,bookmark
hackaday.com
andvisititdaily.Ireallydomean
daily.
Considershiftingtoalinuxdistributionasyour
primary
OS.

Ifyoulikelearningfromabook,havelookat"TheArtofElectronics"by
PaulHorowitz.
BuyanArduino.Ifyoucantaffordit,buya
Freeduino
.They'reabouthalfthe
priceandelectricallyequivalent.
Learnhowtosolder.Solderwell.Buyasolderingironandanextratip.
FollowPriyans'linkaboutwhataminimalelectronicslabshouldhave.

LearnhowtouseLTspice(orsomeequivalent).Can'tstressenoughon
howhelpfulitis.
Also,checkout
/
h
ttp://ozark.hendrix.edu/~burch/logisim
and
http://www.logiccircuit.org/
MoveontoProteusonlywhenyouarecomfortablewiththeabove.

Createalogofwhatyouhavelearnt,eventhemistakes.Preferablykeepit
onlineanduptodate.

Ifyouarereallyintoembeddedsystems,don'tusethearduinoI/Olibraries
fortoolong.Moveontoplainc.
Youwilllearnalotmorefromprogramminga16bittimerthanyouwillever
learnfromanalogWrite().
www.codeacademy.com
Learnhowtoprogramachipusing
avrdude
andonlythen
moveontoanIDEorcustombuildscripts.

Bookmark
http://avrfreaks.net
andfollow
https://www.youtube.com/user/jeriellsworth/videos

Togetstarted,
LearnhowanIC555works.Betteryettrytothinkaboutwhyitscalledthat
(hint:lookattheinternalblockdiagram).
Checkout
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/tags/concepts
andtryafewsmall
projectstogetstarted.

Ifyouneedparts,goto
findparts.in
Itletsyousearchmanyonlinestoresallatonce.
Asasidenote,prefertouseopensourcealternativesevenifthereare
freewaresavailable.

Computer Science & Engineering, Information Systems

Suraj(Goa)

[notethatthisinformationisapplicabletostudentsfromanybranchoryearwhoareinterested
inprogramming]

Forstudentswhoarenewtoprogrammingandhadtheirfirstintrotoprogrammingonlyduring
CP
:Practiceyourcodingskillsandmasterthebasicsofanobjectoriented

languagelike
C++/Java/Python
.Getafirmgraspon
OOPconcepts
like
polymorphism,inheritance,abstractionandbasicdatastructureslike
stacks,queues,heapsandalgorithmsonsortingandsearchingalongthe
way.IwouldrecommendyoutocontinuewithC++sinceitssimilartoC
whichyoualreadylearnt.YouwouldbeanywaysbelearningJavaaspart
ofOOPinyournextsemester.

Recommendedtutorials:(forPython),
http://www.learncpp.com/
or

http://www.cplusplus.com/doc/tutorial/
(forC++)


ForstudentswhohavesomeprogrammingexperiencepriortoCPandhavebasicknowledgeof
datastructuresandsimplealgorithms:

1.Enterintotheworldof
competitiveprogramming
problemsalongwith
explanations.Havearead
http://community.topcoder.com/tc?module=Static&
g

Checkout
www.spoj.com
or
or
www.codechef.com
or
www.topcoder.com
or
www.hackerrank.com
.Createanaccountandstarthoningyouralgorithmic
skills.Mostofthesesiteshaveverygoodtutorial
d1=tutorials&d2=alg_index
TrydoingaMOOCon
algorithms
.Itreallyhelps.DontwaitforyourDSA
coursein4thsem.Courserahas2upcomingcoursesfromStanford
Algorithms1
https://www.coursera.org/course/algo
{startsApr28}andAlgorithms
2
https://www.coursera.org/course/algo2
{startsJun30}.Yougetacertificateof
accomplishmentaswell:)
2.Enterintotheworldof

opensourcesoftware
Thebestpartabout
opensourcesoftwareisthatthereisaveryvibrantand24/7active
communityreadytohelpyouevenfromscratch.Havealookat
https://www.googlemelange.com/gsoc/org/list/public/google/gsoc2014
toseealistof
popularopensourceorgs.Youcanfilteroutthemaccordingtoyour
preferredlanguagesorfieldsandchooseone(ormore)thatinterestsyou.
Almostalltheseorganizationshaveadocumentationwithinformationon
buildingandhackingthesoftware.Alongwiththis,theyalsogenerallyhave
anIRCormailinglistwhereothercontributorshangout.Introduceyourself,
tpeopletohelpyouout.ellthemyouareinterestedincontributing.Youwill
findplentyofnice
Also,docheckout
http://openhatch.org/

Ifyouareinto
OSkernels
andwanttoknowhowoperatingsystemswork
http://eudyptulachallenge.org/
Youbuildakernelfromscratchandaddfeatures
ontopofit.

General:Getyourselfa
www.github.com
accountandlearntousegitorifyou
preferanyotherversioncontrolsystem.Publishwhateverprojects/hacks
youcode.Collaboratewithothersandlearnmore.

Feelfreetocontactmeat
mssurajkaiga@gmail.com
foranyhelp.

Priyans(Goa)
Ifyouwouldliketotacklereallygoodproblemsin
algorithms
or
youwouldliketoimproveyourcodingskills,Iwouldrecommendyouto
takealookat
ProjectEuler
.Ithaschallenging
MathematicsandComputational
Problems
.

Anshul(Goa)
:
StartworkingonsimpleprojectsafterCP.Tryandrecreate

basicutilitiesyouhaveused.Calculator(evaluateanygivenexpression
withbrackets),notepad,filemanagerandsoon.Browse/surfrandom
topicsaboutrecentstuff.Tryandunderstandhowtheywork.Some
interestingtopicstoreaduponwouldbe:
1. Bitmanipulation/Bittwiddling(ThemostexhaustivelistoftricksI
knowof:
http://graphics.stanford.edu/~seander/bithacks.html
)
2. Virtualmachinesandoperatingsystems.
3. Networks(viaethicalhackingorpenetrationtesting,ifyouwishto)
4. SSDs
5. BigData,ParallelandDistributedcomputing.
6. Heartbleed,Maninthemiddleattacksandcomputersecurityin
general.

Identifywhatinterestsyouthemost.

Gaurav(Goa)

IdliketoelaborateonOpenSourcedevelopment.After

havingfinishedCP,itsimportanttorealisethatopensourcedevelopment
isabitdifferentfromalltheprogramsyouvebeenwritingsofar.
Practically,thecodebaseishugeandmanagingitisanissuewithmany
individualscollaboratingsimultaneously.Togetstarted,contactthe
organisationeitherontheirmailinglistorIRC.


IRC:StandsforInternetRelayChatandisoneoftheoldestwaysto
communicateovertheinternet.BeginwithinstallinganIRCClient(XChatis
crossplatformandhasadecentinterface).Mostopensourceprojects
havechannels(similartochatrooms)ontheFreenodenetwork
(irc.freenode.net).Youmightwanttoconfiguretheclienttoconnectto
Freenodeautomaticallyonlaunch.Also,selectanicknamethisisgoingto
beyouridentityoverIRC.Havingafunnynickisfinebutdontgo
overboardwithit.Ifyougetapromptaskingforpassword,itimpliesthat
thenickyouselectedhasalreadybeenregisteredandyoullhavetopick
anotherone.Onceyouvedecidedonanick,registeritsothatnoone
hijacksit.Joinyourorganisationschannelandaskquestionsrightaway
(bepolite,dontasktoask).Youllbesurprisedtoseehowhelpfulthe
communityis.Referto
http://xchat.org/docs/start/
forconfiguringXChat.

VersionControl:Withmanyindividualscontributingtotheproject
simultaneously,keepingrevisionsoffilesbecomesanecessity.Consider
thisscenarioyoufigureoutabugthatcanberesolvedbymaking
changestofunctionfooinxyz.py.Now,whatifthefilexyz.pywasupdated
duringtheperiodyoulastfetcheditandappliedyourchanges?Howdoyou
keepatrackofwhoupdatedthecode?Thisiswhereversioncontrolcomes
in.Ithelpsyoukeepatrackoneverychangemadetotheprojectand
maintainsrevisionsoffilesintheproject.TherearetwotypesofVCS
Centralised(SVN,CVS)andDecentralised(git,hg).Idsuggestyoutoget
familiarwiththeonethattheorganisationofyourchoiceuses(although
beingfamiliarwithgitisanaddedadvantageduetoitspopularity).Nettuts
hasanintroductorytutorialforusinggit
http://code.tutsplus.com/tutorials/easyversioncontrolwithgitnet7449
.Alsoreferto
http://gitscm.com/book

Manoj(Goa)
:IdliketoaddafewmorepointstoOpenSourceDevelopment,
apartfromthatwhichhasalreadybeentoldbyGaurav.Thefirstthingis
youneednotbeanamazingcoderorawesomedeveloper(whohasall

algorithmsinhisfingertips)tostartcontributingtoOpenSource.Youjust
needtobewillingtoworkhard.Justbeabitfamiliarwiththesyntax,and
basicconceptslikefunctions,classes.Andthenhavealookatvarious
opensourceprojects(preferablytheonesthathaveahistoryofhaving
takenpartinGoogleSummerofCode,sincetheyaretheoneswithrapid
development).Atfirst,thesheercomplexityoftheentirecodebasemight
frightenyou,thisisnormalevenforanexperiencedcoder,theseprojects
havebeenworkeduponbythebestdevelopersacrosstheworldforquitea
bitoftime.ThisiswherethemailinglistandIRCcomesintoplay.Ask
smartquestionslikewhichpartofthecodebaseyoushouldbeworkingon,
theywouldmostprobablyleadyoutoanumberofissues/bugsthatneedto
befixed.Iftheseissuesseemabitcomplexatfirstsight,relaxandstart
workingonitslowly.Forafirsttimer,theseissueswouldtakeatleasta
minimumof23daystofix.Therearealwayssiteslike
stackoverflow.com
that
wouldhelpyouifyougetstuckanywhereandofcoursethementorsofthe
projectwhoarealsowillingtohelp.Onceyouaredone,pushyourcode,to
therepository,andtheywouldreviewit.
Now,reviewingalsotakesquiteabitoftime,sincethementorsworkon
theseprojectsonlyintheirfreetime.Afterthecompletecycleofreviewing
andrewritingcodeagainisover,theywillfinallymergeitandyouwould
haveyourfirstOpenSourcecontribution.

Kartik(Goa)

Mysuggestionswouldbeforpeoplewhoareinterestedin
Competitive
programming
.IwouldrequesttheFirstyearitestogothroughtheIITKGP
C_ProgrammingvideosonDCwhichisanextensionofourComputer
Programmingcourse.Itcontainsafewconceptsonalgorithms(designand
analysisfornewtimers)andalsointroductiontographsandtrees.
Whenyouaredonewith
LinkedLists
practicetheproblemsonthiswebsite
:
http://www.geeksforgeeks.org/category/linkedlist/
.
www.codeforces.com
conducts2
0hourcontestsalmostevery34days.Itcontains5problemsofgood
standard.Codechefalsoconductsregularcontests.Butdoremembertogo

throughthecontestsconductedbyvariouscollegeslikeIITsandIIITsin
contestssectionof
www.codechef.com
.Ifyoufeelyouarecomfortableand
strongwiththebasicsofprogramming,theniwouldsuggestyoutogo
throughbasicsofalgorithms,sortingandsearchinginthiswebsite
http://www.geeksforgeeks.org/fundamentalsofalgorithms/
.Itcontainsthesourcecode
tofewalgorithmswhichmayhelpyoutounderstandthealgorithmbetter.

Fordatastructuresrefer:
http://www.geeksforgeeks.org/datastructures/
.

Note:
Participationincontestsisveryimportant.Eventhoughyouknowthe

logic,itsimplementationisveryimportant.

Mechanical
Jaideep Singh(Hyderabad)
Mechanical is one of the most diverse fields of engineering; Make a
decision on which of the many skills youd like to acquire over the next three years? (starting
from your 1st Year summer vacations).
The answer to the above question majorly lies in your area of interest. For instance, we
mechanical engineers have an option to work in:

Powerplantsasfieldengineers,designengineersforvarious
relatedsystems.
Automotive
industryDesignengineers,CAD/CAEpersonnel,
manufacturingfloor
ProductdesignIndustry
IndustrialDesignEngineer(NewinIndia)..andthelistgoeson.
Onceyouvepickedyourareaofinterest,startbrowsingthewebfor
additionalinforelatedtoyourfieldofinterest.Youllfindmanyforums,
onlinecourses,websitesandebookswhichwillhelpyouinyourjourney.
Makeawisedecisiononwhattopicstoreadandwhattoignoreatthis
primarystage.Itsreallyhardforanyonetoguideyouonalltheareas
relatedtoME,Imprimarilyinterestedinallthings
Automotive
soIlltrytogive
myinputsonthistopic.

Engines,vehicledynamics,vehicleconstruction,Chassisdesign,

manufacturingprocess,CAD/CAEstuffandalotmanythingsgoaroundin
buildinganautomobile.
IfyouareamongthosewhohadaknackforEngineering
Graphics(AutoCAD)courseinyour1styearthenyoucancontinuethat
momentumbylearningnewmodellingsoftwareslike:

SolidWorks(Easytoworkwithandbeautifullylaidout)
ProEngineer
CATIAV5orhigherversiox
n(Oneofthemostadvancedpackages
)

startoffmodellingsimpleshapesandtrytoexploredifferentoptionsinthe
workbench,youcanthentrytomakeassembliesfromasetofcomponents
youmade.importanttonotethatitsnotnecessaryforyoutomasterthe
softwareImyselfdidntmasteranypackageyetbutitsalwayshelpfulto
knowthem.

IfyoulovereadingbooksandareafrequentvisitoronHowstuffWorks.com
thenyoushouldprobablykeepreadingbooksonEngines,vehicle
dynamicsoranyotherthingwhichyoulike.,theaimhereistoexploreas
always,getindepthknowledgeonaspecifictopic.Fewgoodbookswhich
idsuggestare:
InternalcombustionEnginesbyVGanesan(bestbookforbeginners)
InternalCombustionenginefundamentalsbyJohnHeywood(abitadvancedanduseful
forMSyears)
FundamentalsofVehicleDynamicsbyThomasD.Gillespie(neatlylaidoutbookmedium)
AdvancedvehicletechnologybyHeinzHeisler(Simplewithmanyillustrations,helpful)

Inadditiontoallthese(getyourhandsononebookatatimeandkeep
browsing,understandhowmucheveryoucan)youcankeeplookingfor
onlineresourcestokeepyouinterestedinnewtechnologiesetc.
Formula1.com/news/technical(forformula1fans)
Howstuffworks.com
carbibles.com
andthereisalwaysyoutube.com

Note:Theseonlinelinksareonlyusefultogetyoustartedandhelpbuild
yourintuition,thisishowyoullalwaysknowsomethinginthebackofyour
headwhensomeonespeaksoutatechnicalword.

Mostimportant,enjoydoingwhateveryouaredoing.youcanstart
implementingwhateveryoulearnduringthenextfewyearsatBITSthrough
collegeeventsorotherevents.

Foranyadditionalinfoyoucanalwaysmailmeon
jaideepsingh08@gmail.com
Allthebest!!

SundarGanesh(Goa)

Thefollowingiswrittenundertheassumptionthatyouvefound
AerodynamicsandAerospaceEngineeringinterestingafterpreliminary
reading(eithertheinternet,somecoursework,orencyclopaedia)andare
lookingforsomemoredepthintothesubject.

AddingontotheskillsetsandresourcesthatJaideeprecommended
forMechanicalEngineering,IdliketoexpandspecificallyonAerospace
Engineeringandevenmorespecifically,on
ComputationalFluidDynamics
(CFD)
forthoseofyouwhoareinterestedsinceBITSdoesnotseparatelyofferan
AerospaceEngg.program.Broadlyspeaking,AerospaceEngg.hasfour
mainsubdivisions
Aerodynamics
,StructuresandMaterials,ControlSystems
andPropulsion.BeingaMechanicalorChemicalengineeringstudent,most
ofJohnD.Andersons
books
shouldbesimpleenoughtoreadandwillgive
youapracticalflavourofwhatyouwillencounterinAerospace
Engineering.IwouldstronglyrecommendaaFirstYearto
startwiththis.

PertinenttoAerospaceEngg.,IwouldsaythataMechanical
EngineeringstudentshouldpayattentiontothefollowingCDCsFluid
Mechanics,AppliedThermodynamics,MechanicsofSolids,ICEngines,
HeatTransfer,PrimemoversandFluidMachinesandGasDynamics.Also
beingaPhysicsstudent,IwouldrecommendComputationalPhysics,
StatisticalMechanicsandClassicalMechanics.Theseshouldgiveyouan
extremelystrongfoundationofthephysicsinvolvedinmostAerospace

Engg.subjects.Theprescribedtextbooksforthesecoursesarealso
extremelydetailed,rigorousandsimpletounderstand.

CFD,asmentionedabove,istheuseofacomputerandvarious
algorithmstosimulatefluidflowsaroundobjectssuchasaircraft,turbines,
jets,etc.Thishelpstoobtainvaluabledatawithouttheneedtoactuallyset
upanexperiment.Moreoftenthannot,youwillbeusingprogramssuch
ANSYSFluent,CFX,STARCCMorOpenFOAMforthesesimulations.
TheseprogramsuseaGUItomakelifemucheasier,butdonotrevealany
ofthealgorithmsthattheyuseandmoreoftenthannot,dontallowthe
usertoaffectthealgorithmused.

AFirstYearstudentcanbeginwithtutorialsfor
Fluent
and
OpenFOAM
thatcanbefoundattheselinks.OpenFOAMisanOpenSourceproject
basedonC++andonlinesupportthroughforums,libraries,tutorialsand
documentationsiswidelyavailable.StartingwithFluentofOpenFOAM
givesyouveryeasyoutputwithverylittleinputandisextremelygratifying
forabeginnertoexperience.

Learning
numericalmethods
and
computationalprogramming
isamustforANY
engineeringgraduate.Iwilltailorthissectionspecifictothesame.Make
sureyoufamiliarizeyourselfwithMatlab,Python,C,C++,FORTRANor
anyotherlanguagespecificallyaimedatcomputationalprogramming.
Computationalprogrammingandnumericalmethodsisaseparatesubject
initself.Afewsamplesofonlinetutorialsareattachedbelow:

1. http://lorenabarba.com/blog/cfdpython12stepstonavierstokes/
2. https://www.coursera.org/course/scicomp
3. http://www.nptelvideos.in/2012/11/numericalmethodsandprograming.html
4. https://www.edx.org/course/v2/introductioncomputationalthinkingdatamitx6002x0

IwouldalsoVERYhighlyrecommendreadingaboutthealgorithms
behindCFDasthisiswheretheactualscienceandresearchhappens.

Thereareseveraltextbooksyoucanusetogetstartedlistedintheorder
thatIwouldrecommendreadingthem:

1. IntroductiontoComputationalFluidDynamicsVersteegandMalalasekara
2. ComputationalFluidDynamicsBasicswithApplicationsJohnAnderson
3. ComputationalMethodsforFluidDynamicsFerziger
4. NumericalHeatTransferandFluidFlowSuhasPatankar

Supplementingthesewithonlinecourseswouldalsobeagoodidea,
afewexamplesareattachedbelow:

1. Prof.SrinivasJayanthiIITMadras
2. Prof.SumanChakrabortyIITKharagpur

IfyouhaveanyadditionalquestionsonAerospaceEngineering,Fluid
dynamics,AerodynamicsandPropulsionandhowtogenerallyexplorethis
area,Idbemorethanhappytorecommendmoreresourcestothebestof
myability.Feelfreetocontactmeat
sundar.ganesh21@gmail.com

Chemical & Manufacturing Engineering

YouwillhavefourCDCsinyoursecondyear.Fluiddynamics,Engineering
Chemistry,ThermodynamicsandChemicalProcessCalculations.Youcan
readupandacquaintyourselfwiththese.ThermodynamicsandFluidare
possiblythemoreimportantonesandslightlyhardertoo.Youwillneed
themwhenyoucometoyour3rdyearandevenlateron.Whilereadingup
onthesetopics,alsotrytolookintohowandwheretheyareappliedinour
daytodaylife.Forexample,thermodynamicsplaysabigroleinthe
workingoftherefrigeratoryouhaveinyourhouse.Furthermore,for
chemicalcalculations,ithelpstoknowacodinglanguage.AtBITS,
MATLABisthepreferredchoiceinthesecondyear.Sotrytoequipyourself

withbasicknowledgeinthat.Yourfirstyearthermodynamicsandchemistry
courseswillhelpyoutoo,sobrushuponthat.

Ifyoucangetyourhandsontheprescribedtextbooksbeforehand,theyre
prettygood.Elseyoucanreadupontheinternetorreferotherbooks.

Prescribedtextbooks:
IntroductiontoFluidMechanicsFox,PritchardandMcdonald
IntroductiontoChemicalEngineeringThermodynamicsSmithandAbbott
EngineeringChemistryS.Vairam,P.KalyaniandSubaRamesh

Youcangothroughsomeofthematerialgivenbelow.

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/chemicalengineering/1040chemicalengineeringthermodynamicsf
all2003/readings/

http://nptel.ac.in/courses/103101004/1

Ifyoualreadyhaveanareaofinterest,workonthat.Youcanalsoconsider
doingasmallprojectorpaperinthatfieldwhichyoucanpresentatQuark
andothertechfests.Onceoncampus,theMEstudentswillassistyouwith
it.

Science

Biology

MathewsMJohn(Hyderabad):
Ifyouareintothepurebiology,readupon

techniqueslikePCR,ELISA,Gelelectrophoresisetc.Youwilleventually

learnaboutthem.Buttheyarereallyfuntouseandveryimportant.Ifyou
arelookingforsomethinginterdisciplinary,googleBiology+<whatever
yoursecondinterestis>Therearelotofforumsandvideosonyoutubethat
explainthefieldsingooddetail.Itsagoodstartingpointtolearnnewthing

Ashish(Goa):
Whilecorebiologyisstillpredominantlyalaborientedsubject,
therearemanythingsyoucandojustsittingathome.Oneofthemost
fundamentalthingsiscoding.Thereisafundamentalshiftinhowbiologyis
doneofflate.Giventhevastamountofdatagenerated,peoplearelooking
forwaystoclassifyandanalyzethisdatabetter.Startoffbyusingsoftware
suchas
Cytoscape
and
PyMOL
.Whilethesearealreadyrichinfunctionality,
youcanstartcreatingyourownplugins(CytoscapeworkswithJavaand
PyMOLworkswithPython).

Thesecondaspectisgettingusedtoresearchpapers.Bookscanonlytake
yousofarinBiology.Conceptschangeonanalmosteverydaybasisand
newthingsarediscoveredinbiologyatarapidpace.Use
PUBMED
this
allowsyouaccesstoalargenumberofresearchpapersfreeofcost.Start
readingandaskquestions.

Finally,getworkingwithalabassoonasyoucan.Youneedlab
experiencetobegoodwithBiology,theoreticalknowledgewillnotcutit.
Getintouchwithaprofessorandrequesthim/hertoputyouunderaPhD
studentwhocanguideyou.
Foranyquestions,getintouchwithme(
f2011575@goa.bitspilani.ac.in
).

Chemistry
ShashwatVerma
(Goa)

Thecoursestructureisveryinterestingandatthesametimenotverytime
consumingunlikeotherbranches.Ifyouattendalltheclasses,youwont
needtostudyonyourown.Majorityofthefacultyishighlyqualifiedand

givesalotofinputinmakingsureweunderstand.Nevertheless,you
approachingthefacultywillalwayshaveapositiveimpact.

Youwillrealizethatyouareprettymuchawareofwhatisbeingtaught
sinceitwillbetoagreatextentanextensionofwhatyouhavestudiedin
+2.Coursescompriseofthefollowing:

1. ThermodynamicsSimpleconcepts.WillbetakenmostlybyRanjan
Deysirwhoisinfactoneofthebestfacultymemberstoteachthe
subject.SubjectinvolvesFirst,secondandthirdlawwhichweall
havestudiedin+2.Abitofextensionwhichisobviousatastage
whereyouarestudyingMsc.Courses.
2. OrganicChemistry:Willmainlyinvolvereactionsandtheir
mechanismsandinnextsemesterthestereochemistry.Againan
extensionof+2.
3. Inorganic:Willincludealotofrotelearning.Butmajorityofitiswhat
wehavestudiedbefore.AverageisBsomakesureyouscorewellin
thiscourse.
4. Quantum:Totallyanewsubject.Willbeveryinterestingandwould
providewithanswerstoalotofstuffwhichwentunansweredearlier.
Watchvideosonlineonyoutube.Youneedtounderstandthe
concepts.Foranormalperson,ifaparticleisgoingfrompointAto
pointBinonesingledirection,itneedstocrossthemidpoint.But
thatsnotwhatactuallyhappensinquantum.Youneedtocomeoutof
thatclassicalthinkingandunderstandtheconcepts.Videoswillhelp
yougetclarityintoalotofconcepts.
5. Labs:Thisisactuallyaveryscoringcomponentandcanhelpyouget
yourgraderaised.DoNOTarguewithinstructors.Thisisthelast
courseyouwouldwanttoloseonthegrade.AveragegetsB.Good
learningopportunitiesarethereinthiscourse.

Secondyearwillbetheleasthecticyearthroughoutthespanofyourstay
inGoa.Takeupformal/informalprojects.Youlearnsomethingreallynew.

Yougetintothegoodbooksofprofessors,whocanpossiblyprovideyou
withrecommendationletterswhenyouplantostudyabroad.Trustmethe
facultyisverywellrecognized.Alsothisistheyearwhereyoucanactually
scoreAs.AbitofsincerityandhalftheeffortsofEEE/ENIstudentsand
youaregoodtogo.Allquizzeswillbeannouncedsodonotmissthemas
theywillcauseahugedifferencebetweenyouandotherbatchmates.

Attendingclassesistheonlythingyouhavetodoandheyyouget10%
marksforthatin1course.TakeNotes!Youcannotreadthat1000page
bookanyday!Allquestionswillbefromnotesandthatissomethingyou
shouldprepareproperlybygoingforalltheclasses.
Foranyqueries,getbacktomeon
shashwatverma14@gmail.com

Economics

AnkurBaheti
(Goa)

Whilewritingthis,Ihaveassumedthatyouhaventexploredthefieldof
economics/financelikemanyofuswhileregisteringforthisdiscipline.I
wouldalsoliketoassureyouallthatyourdecisiontopursuethissocial
scienceprogrammeisgoingtobeoneofthebestdecisionsyouhaveever
made.

So,likeforotherstreamsthereisnoskillsetforyoutogainat
thispoint.Myadviceforyouistodevelopaloveforwhatyouaregoingto
studyduringtheseupcomingyears.Buthow?
1)

READALOT:Startfromthebasics.Thefewoftheseare
a.

Demand/SupplyConcepts
b.

Profitmaximization
c.

Roleofgovernmentintheeconomy
d.

FinancialMarkets
e.

FinancialInstitutionsandtheirrole
f.

Governmentsstandonvariouspolicies

2)

ANALYZEWHATYOUREAD:Whilereading,variousquestionswillcross
yourmindlike

a.

Whatcausesinflation?
b.

Whatfactorsgovernthemovementofexchangerates(like
AmericanDollarvsIndianRupee)?
c.

WhyRBIincreases/decreasesamountofmoneyinthe
economy?
d.

HowRBIprintsmoney?
e.

WhyAmericanDollarisusedforinternationaltradeandwhat
areitsconsequences?

Involveyourselfinfindinganswersofsuchquestionsandanalyseitfrom
yourviewpoint.

3)

FOLLOWNEWS:Youalreadyknowwhythisisnecessary.Follownational
aswellasInternationalnews.

*FINANCESPECIFIC*

4)

FOLLOWEQUITYANDEXCHANGEMARKETS:
a.

Learnaboutfundamentalaswellastechnicalanalysisof
stocks.

5)

VIRTUALTRADING:Createanaccountwithnsepathshala.comorany
othervirtualtradingplatformanduseyourknowledgeaboutstockanalysis.

HELPFULLINKS:

http://www.investopedia.com/

http://www.economist.com/

https://www.boundless.com/economics/

http://www.businessinsider.in/

http://www.businessworld.in/

GoodLuck!!

Mathematics

Ramchandran
(Goa)

1.YouareactuallyintoMathematics.

1.a.Youhavepriorexperience/exposure(Olympiads)

Good!..

FirstBethoroughwiththefirstyearmathematicscourses.
a)MultivariableCalculus.
Withyourexperienceyoumustbeabletosayifyoudidthecourse
properlyornot.
Ifnot,SeetheMITlecturesbyDennisAuroux.Youshallbedoing
ElementaryRealAnalysiscoursein21,youdontwanttobehandicapped
byshadyunderstandingofthebasics.
b)ProbabilityandStatistics
Isuggestyourevisitthisvitalcourseifyouareinterestedintheareas
ofMachineLearning,DataScience.

Isuggestyougetusedtotheideaofabstractdefinitionsandproblem
solving,proofwritingetc.

c)Mathematics2
PleasegothroughtheNPTELcourseMatrixTheorybyIIsc
Banglore.MustWatch.
Itlaysextremelystrongbasics.


So,afterensuringyourbasicsareairtight.
Getdirty.
StartlearningHigherAlgebra,RealAnalysis,Combinatoricsetc.
Isuggestweshouldstartworkingonproblemsthatwehavealways
wantedtotry.
Letsutilisethissummertodooursmallestformofresearchtry
interestingtoughproblems.
Therearecoupleofgoodresources
a)
InternationalTournamentofYoungMathematicians.Checkitout.
Worthourtimeandalotmore.
b)mathcamp.org
c)Explorethemathoverflow,mathlinks.roforums..
Havefun.

2.YouarenotintoMathematics.

RegardlessofwhetheryourCGisgoingtogetyouthestreamofyour
choice,PleasedolookatthedesiredEngineeringsectiontostartworking.
2.a.YoudonothavepriorOlympiadexperience. Becomea
memberof
mathlinks.ro
andexploreit.
Tryinterestingquestions.
IsuggestTournamentofTowns.
Googleitandgetthequestionpapersandtrythem.

Anshul
:
(Goa)Getaccustomedtorigorousproofs.Lookatcreativeproofs
(ProofsfromTHEBOOK).Work/readthroughTerenceTaosAnalysis1
and2.Lookatdifferentfieldsinmathematicscombinatorics,analysis,
numbertheory,algebraicgeometry,topologyandsoon.Wastetime

readingaboutthemandexploringthem.GetMath1andMath2basics
right.

PriyansIfyouwantelegantproblem(Mathematical)solvingviacoding
Referto
ProjectEuler
.

Physics

KushagraNigam
(Goa)

Physicsisabranchthatgiveswordstothebeauty

ofnatureandthewayitoperates.Itrepresentsthewaywethinkandthe
wayweinteract.Itrequiresanentirelydifferentmindsetthatlearnsto
appreciatethingsthewaytheyareandthentrytounderstandanduse
themforagreatergood.Ialwayssuggesttomyjuniorstodevelopan
applicationbasedlearningenvironmentratherthansolvingonpenand
paper.Onemustspendampleamountoftimeoneachandeveryequation
nomatterhowbigorsmallitisandthentrytoapplyitinreallifeeither
throughathoughtexperimentorademonstrativeexperiment.Iwillgiveyou
anexample.Supposeonewantstounderstandformationofstanding
waves.Imagineyourselftobeinalockedcompartmentofelasticmaterial
andyouhaveabagofelasticballs.Notyoustartthrowingoneballto
understandfundamentalmode,twoballstounderstandfirstharmonicand
soon.Atapointyouwillrealizethatyouhavesucceededinunderstanding
thatnodesareenergyexchangecentersthathelpininterconverting
potentialandkineticenergy.Nowthismodelitselfhasvariousimplications
someofwhichcanbeamazinglydemonstrated.
TheentirepointIwanttoconveyhereisthataPhysicistshouldbe
unboundedinhis/herthinkingandshouldhaveanindependentthought
process.Thisprocessmaynotalwaysleadtocorrectmodelsbutthats
howitworks,wrongleadstorightandrightleadstowrong,but
neverthelessthejourneyisexcitingasalwaysasitisfullofvisualizing
natureinitspurestform.

Raj
(Goa)

Ifyouareinterestedin
TheoreticalPhysics
,youneedathorough

baseinlinearalgebra,multivariablecalculus,differentialequationsand
complexanalysis.Soyes,thewholeofthefoundationalmathematics
coursesruninBITS.Idsuggestonetoreviewallthemaththatwas
coveredinthefirstyearafterthevacations.Trustme,mathematicsisthe
languageofPhysics.Youwontbeabletodoanythingifyouarenotableto
understand/useitfreely.

Attheendofmyfirstyear,Istartedlearning
ClassicalMechanics
(itisacourse
in21anyways,andtheconceptsdevelopedherelikegeneralvariables,
Lagrangianformulation,HamiltonianFormulation,CanonicalQuantities,
symmetriesandconservationlaws,PrincipleofLeastAction,etcendup
beingusedeverywhereintheoreticalPhysics.Idsuggestonetospenda
monthorsotryingtocoverupallthematerialthatIhavementioned.You
canuseGoldstein(thetextbook,pdf/buyit)ortry
these
notesfromCaltech
(youcanskipstuffthatyouhavealreadydealtwith).Everythingin
theoreticalPhysicsisdoneintermsofLagrangians/Hamiltonians.

Youneedtoknowhowtodealwithparticlesin
ClassicalMechanics
beforeyou
moveontohowtodealwithfields.Thereisnogoodbookassuchon
dealingwithfields.Beforegoingaheadwithfields,takeabreakandlearn
tensoranalysis.Thebestpartisthat,youllbeabletolearntheformulation
ofspecialrelativityandgeneralrelativityeasilyonceyouknowtensor
analysis.InFact,youcandotensoranalysiswhileyouaredoingrelativity.
Isntthatawesome?

Soyeah,afterdoingwhatImentionedin
ClassicalMechanics
,trydoingsome
relativity.

CoveringCh1inthebook
SpacetimeandGeometrybySeanCarroll

willbeenough
forthesummers.Youlllearntodo
specialrelativity
aswellastensoranalysis
inthesame.Also,attheendofthechapter,onecanlearntodealwith
ClassicalFieldTheory(whichyoushouldfocusandemphasizeoninyour

21byyourself).Italsoshowsyou
Maxwellsequations
inatensorialnotation
(thiswayofwritingthemdownisonlytouchedupontheTheoryofRelativity
elective)andyoullcoverthese(intheirdifferentialform,nottensorform)in
EMT1inyour21anyways.

Sowhatdoyoulearn?
BasicsofClassicalMechanics.BasicsofSpecialRelativity.Brush
with
ClassicalFieldTheory
andMaxwellsequations.Also,enoughknowledgetolearn
differentialgeometry(Ch2and3ofS&G,Carroll)followedby
GeneralRelativity
(Ch4).

Allthiswillsurelygiveyouanedgeandmakeyoucomfortable.Ifnothing
else,youllfindoutifTheoreticalPhysicsiswhereyourheartliesornot.

Anshul

(Goa):
Getusedtobigequations.Developtheabilitytoseethrough

them.ThebestwaytogetstartedisFeynman'sLecturesinPhysics.The
firsttwovolumesareinvaluableindevelopingintuition.

Agoodbackgroundknowledgeoftherelevantmathematicsmakestheunderstandingand
appreciationofthephysicalsciencesmucheasierandbetter,becausethatisthelanguagein
whichphysicallawsareexpressedwiththenecessaryprecision.

Whilecalculusisthebasicprerequisite,certainpartsofphysicssuchasquantummechanics,in
particular,requireaknowledgeoflinearalgebra,includingmatrices,linearvectorspaces,and
soon.Thesetopicsaremostusefulinmanyothercontextsaswell.Aformalmathematical(but
extremelywellwritten)accountisgiveninthebookbyPeterHalmos(Ithinkthetitleis
somethinglike'Finitedimensionalvectorspaces',butyoucancheckthisoutonGoogle).The
SchaumSeriesbooksonLinearAlgebra,Matrices,VectorAnalysis,etc.alsoprovidegood'drill
books'tolearnthesubject.Problemsolvingisthebestwaytolearnanyofthesethings.

General

Raj(Goa)
Havesome
confidence
inyourself.Ifindthatlackinginmanypeople

andthatisthecauseofwhytheydontendupdoinganything.Soyeah,
havesomefaithandconfidenceinyourself.Itisnotnecessarythatyou
mustenduplikingwhateveryoustartoffwith,itismoreimportantthatyou

dostuffandendupgainingvaluableexperiencefromthesame.Every
activityteachesyousomething.Soyeah,dontbeanothersmartperson
whoisbusyconvincingyourselfthatyoupossiblydontknowenoughtodo
anything/isntsmart/ofnouse.Go,dosomething.Fall,getdirty.Youll
eventuallyfallinloveandforgetallthebaddays.

PS.Enjoy!

Priyans(Goa)

Blog
.Icannotstressmoreontheimportanceofhavingablog.
Onceyoustart
writingwhatyouknow,peoplewillknowthatyouknowsomething.Itisjust
aninitialpushwhichisneeded,youneedtowriteyourfirstblogpostand
thenyouwillautomaticallystartdocumentingyourworkonyourblogs.For
referencesee
aishack.in
(BITSianblog07batchIthinkNowin
DreamWorks),
jayrambhia.com
(10batchgotdoubledigitno.ofjoboffers
becauseofthisblog).Youneedtorealizethatbloggingisaserious
business.Technicalblogshelpeveryone.Wheneveryoutrytosolvea
problem,youlookupsomeonesblogtofindoutasolution.Itisyourwayof
givingitbacktothesociety.Secondly,bloggingisaproofthatyouknow
stuffwhatyouhavedone.Noonecanreallyquestionyourworkunlessitis
notauthentic.AsIsaidearlier,itgivesyouatonneofjobopportunitiestoo!
Blogsneednotjustbeabouthowyoucode,itcanbeaboutcoolmechor
electronicsprojects,orsometheoryyouthinkissinterestingwhichyou
wouldwanttodiscusswithgeneralpublic,oritcouldbeaboutdescribing
yourtakeonaparticulartheory.Ifyouwishtowritecreativestuff,like
poetryorshortstories,oreventakeoncurrentpoliticalorsocialissues,you
shouldideallydoitonaseparateblog.Gettingablogistotallyeasyand
free.Signupforawordpressdomainorablogspotdomain.Ifyouhave
cooldemostoshow,startaYoutubechannel.

Design/UI/UX

Palash(Goa)

Peopleseemtobereallyconfusedaboutthis.Ihaveheardalotofpeople
saythingslike
Design
?ButIcantdraw!
Well,theconfusionisbetween
UI/graphicdesignandUX
.Givethisarticlea
read,anditshouldbeclearwhatis
UX,UI,graphicdesign
etc.
https://medium.com/userexperience101/dee0436a194d
also,this
http://www.helloerik.com/uxisnotui

Ifyoucandraw/graphicdesignetc,thatsawesome!Ifyoucant,dont
worry,youshouldstillbeabletodo
webdesign
,andifnoteventhat,UXisa
completelydifferentfield.Itinvolvesthinkingabouttheusers,
understandinghumanpsychology,andapplyingittodesign.Untillastyear,
thereusedtobeacourseinBITSGoacalled
HumanComputerInteraction
.I
knowofatleastonesenior,
SaurabhSoni
,whodidthatcourse.Hehasbeen
placedatHousing.comwithahugepaypackage(althoughthatisdueto
manyreasons,andalsobecausehewasreallyinteresedin
HCI
).Ifyouare
reallyinterestedintothis,checkoutonlinecourseslikethis
one
http://online.stanford.edu/course/hci

Thisisafastgrowing(andexciting)researchfieldtoo,andyouwillseehow
ifyoudothatcourse(orjustseethepreviewofthatcourse).Thisspans
acrossmanydifferentfieldsofstudytoo,soyoucanchooseany
application.Forexample,
GenevieveBell
,the
directorof
IntelCorporation
's
Interaction
andExperienceResearch
,isananthropologist.

Remember,youdontneedtobeartisticallycreative.Youjustrequire
pragmaticcreativity,thatistheabilitytocomeupwithunique/creative
solutionstoproblems.ThatiswhatUXis.(Again,refertothatarticle)

Overthesummers,youcan
freelance
,afterlearningsomestuff.Trygoingto
siteslike
http://www.freelancer.com/
https://www.odesk.com/
oreven
http://www.craigslist.org/
http://www.reddit.com/r/forhire
andmanyothers.JustuseGoogle.

Entrepreneurship

Sajal(Goa)

AgreatwaytospendthesummeristodoafewcoursesonCoursera.
Thereisawiderangeofcoursesfromreputedinstitutesallovertheworld.
OnecourseIhighlyrecommendisIntroductiontoPublicSpeaking
(WashingtonUniversity).

Onceyousignupforanyofthesecourses,gotofacebookandjointheir
respectivegroup(s).Overthere,bealittleactiveandmakefriendswiththe
peoplethere.Thiswayyouwillcreateaveryniceglobalnetwork.Usethe
vacationtobuildaniceFacebook,Linkedin,TwitterandG+profile.

Alsoasmentionedabove,startingablogofyourownisaveryniceidea.
Followpeoplesblogsandgetintotheirbloggingcircles.ReadHarvard
BusinessReviewarticleson
http://www.hbr.org/
.Explorereddit.Explore
medium.com.

Makealistofconferences,competitions,workshopsandeventsyouwould
wanttoattendinthenearfuture.SomeoftheonesI/myfriendsattended
areasfollows(dogoogleaboutthemandfindoutmore).IITMumbaihasa
veryniceannualEntrepreneurshipsummit.ISBhasanannualBplan
competition.ThereistheJagritiYatra.IIMBangaloreconductsmonthly

workshopsonstartuprelatedtopics.AlotofpeoplegotoHPAIRfromour
campus.FindoutaboutCIMA.Gettogetherwithyourteammatesandwork
towardsapplyingtoall/someofthese.Youmighthavetosavealotof
moneytogotoalltheseplaces.Travellingisoneofthebestwaysto
discoveryourself.

Thebestwaytolearnaboutentrepreneurshipistobecomeapartofa
startup!Youneednothaveaveryuniqueornewidea.Justfindaproblem
andtrytosolveit.Ifyoucantdosoandstillwishtolearn,askanyonefrom
campuswhohasastartuptoletyouinternwiththem.

Lastly,Iwouldstressthatwhateverskillsyouhave,workonthemoverthe
summerandgetbetter.Beitphotoshop,coding,makingvideos,etc.

Foranyquestions,getintouchwithmeemailsajal@gmail.com.

Aeromodelling
Siddharth(Goa)
:Ifyouareintoaeromodelling,youvacationsafter1styearis

agreattimetostartwith.Andtolaythefoundation,readingupafewbooks
willdoyouwonders.Tostartwiththeverybasics,UnderstandingFlightby
AndersonandAircraftDesign,AconceptualApproachbyDanielRaymer
shouldservewell.Next,youcandelvedeeperintotheoryofaerodynamics(
AerodynamicsforEngineeringStudents,HoughtonandCarpenter,5thed),
stabilityandcontrol,requisiteelectronicsandcanalsostartdesigningyour
ownplaneandairfoilsonopensourcepackageslikeXLFR5,Profili,XFoil
etc.Therearetutorialsavailableforthesameonthenet(
http://www.xflr5.com/docs/XFLR5_and_Stability_analysis.pdf
,
http://goo.gl/T8oeuS
).

Forumssuchas
www.rcgroups.com
,
www.diydrones.com
arerepositoriesof
knowlegdeandjustbrowsingthemendsupbeingveryproductive,since
therearealotofprofessionalswillingtoofferyouhelpandansweryour
queries.Asyoudoallthis,youcanbeginfabricatingyourplane.

Firsties:Questions?
Seniors:Anyadvices
Queries?Mailto
f2012234@goa.bitspilani.ac.in
or
f2013602@goa.bitspilani.ac.in
.