11 er requirements to attain a passing grade. Note that an audit course will not contribute to your CPI. Do talk to the course instructor for additional requirements and conditions on awarding of an Audit grade (AU). If even auditing a course seems too formal, and what you’d really like is a brief overview of the field, often professors allow students to simply sit-through a course, with no official requirements and no grades awarded. You may or may not be able to get feedback on assignments and exams, depending on the professor.
can be taken up in other departments as institute electives. Like any other course, these may have prerequisites. Consulting the course instructors is advisable.
Going Offbeat
Sometimes, all you want from a course is for it to be fun. Check out the article on some wacky electives in this very newsletter for some handpicked delightful options!
Happy picking!
Interdisciplinary Courses
If interdisciplinary work is your cup of tea or a career in a field different from your own seems lucrative to you, courses
! s e v i t c e l wa c k y e So, now that you know what an elective is, your next question is which one to choose. This is NOT the article to answer that question. Or maybe it is. You decide. IITB has about 40 departments/centres and interdisciplinary programs giving rise to courses across a wide gamut of subjects. So if you thought you were stuck with Micro-electronics for another 2 years, think again, because we show you some of the most hatke courses you can elect.
(TD 654) Rural Environmental Services : Planning and Design This course is taken by the Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA) as part of the Unnat Bharat Program of the Govt of India. Under the program, IITB has adopted 27 villages across Maharashtra to help develop their infrastructure and resources. The course involves a lot of field work and is experimental in nature with assessment completely based on project submission based on field visits. Also, decent grading. ;) (NT 401) Introduction to Nanotechnology The name makes the course content pretty obvious, but the empty classrooms belie the popularity of this course. NT 401 has consistently seen some of the highest number of registrations for an elective. Taught by the venerable Prof. Aiyar of the Centre for Research in Nanotechnology & Science, the course has a very positive reputation. With a lax attendance policy and a favorable effort-to-reward ratio, it’s safe to say Nanotechnology will continue to interest insti for quite a few years to come. :P (CM 792) Communication Skills The student enrolled into this course, being taught about work ethics and plagiarism, along with workplace mannerism, is what makes this course particularly unconventional. Communication in office environment is of the essence. You can like the course or hate it, but you definitely cannot ignore it!
(HS 848) Sankhya Metaphysics in Classical Indian Philosophy For all junta who are interested in ancient Indian philosophies. With the mathematical derivatives of rise of yoga and Ayurveda w.r.t time being positive, it can easily be said that this course has tremendous value. Ultimately, it is important to remember that, “Gyanam Paramam Dhyeyam.” (HS 702) Law, Governance, Rights and Development Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage, and junta is part of this spectacle. In their future endeavors, all insti junta necessarily must have the knowledge of law of the land along with their basic rights, and one is terribly mistaken if one thinks that the course is just for the Arvind Kejriwals and Manohar Parrikars in here. Quite literally, this course with its teachings on rights and governance as well as debates on current developments, will ensure that you no longer remain an AAM AADMI! (ET 801)Introduction to Educational Technology Here, quite literally, they teach you to teach! It is an exclusive elective course in which the student learns about what learning actually is. For all the teaching enthu junta out there, the course also gives an insight into usage of open education resources and intelligent tutoring methodologies, which undeniably are essential in this tech-savvy world of the 21st century! (HS 807) Phenomenology and Existentialism Phew! Pronouncing the name of the course itself is a daunting task. Literally speaking, phenomenology involves trying to understand the essence of a phenomenon by examining the views of people who have experienced that phenomenon. It’s like studying the phenomenon of being the US president, by apprehending the experiences of Mr. Obama. Isn’t it awe-inspiring?