Vol : 1 Edtion : 7

June 2009
 Take up a job or create one!!

In times of recession and economic instability, it is obvious for young graduates to explore all
the avenues available in the job market to acquire that dream status of employment. It is perhaps
of great relevance to also examine if, as an individual one has an entrepreneurial edge to
conceptualize diverse options in building a career.

The concept of entrepreneurship sprang from a conversation that I had with two young graduates
of NIT Trichy who own a start-up gaming company and had come to recruit MSIT students. It
made me mull over the substantive qualities that one should possess to turn into an entrepreneur.
I have also experienced students’ enthusiastic queries to the speakers who visit the campus on
understanding the concept and have heard professionals responding that not all of them are cut
out for it, though they possess a wealth of experience. I have also had an experience of introducing
this concept in the syllabus of a university and students not being able to relate to it.

A few aspiring entrepreneurs kick start their career by working for some one in the initial stages,
acquire capital, contacts and knowledge before they are on their own while a few follow a different
school of thought which talks about learning from peers over the years by starting out as an
entrepreneur. Approaches could be different but the destination they are aiming at remains the
same. So, what is it that makes you at least think like an entrepreneur? Lets explore…..

A challenging aspiration coupled with a burning desire to succeed despite the obstacles that
might come their way definitely stands out as a propelling factor. This stems from a strong sense
of self confidence. From the personality dimension, it demands highly competitive nature with
elevated levels of energy and motivation. We get to see a lot of creativity, innovation,
resourcefulness and openness to change demonstrated by enterprisers. A different thinking in
lines of job security, risk tolerance, ability to be able to use all their skill sets, freedom to control
their workplace makes a difference and kindles that spark of entrepreneurship.

The start-up phase in setting up a business venture is considered to be the most demanding and
crucial period in the whole process. It does consume every bit of energy to get the business
running. In the words of young entrepreneurs this is what you typically get to hear ‘It all starts
with an idea, it requires enormous amount of passion to put those grueling long hours into the
project….it demands a lot of hard work to try out our novel ideas…it is always better to have a
companion just to resist yourself from quitting when the going gets tough….even if you try and
fail in starting your new business, there isn’t much of a social disgrace that you need to face these
days in India…Thank God!!’ The spectrum of entrepreneurial skills is not complete with out people
management which is considered to be very crucial to establish those much needed relations to
secure funds, to market products, to procure clients, to negotiate with clients, to recruit personnel,
to establish culture, to motivate the staff and more importantly to keep it going.

Indian entrepreneurs like Ratan Tata, Narayan Murthy, Dirubhai Ambani, Nandan Nilekani,
AzimPremji, Rahul Bajaj, et al. have stood out as examples and role models for many spreading
their tentacles into various corners of the world. Indian companies are now turning global by
acquisition (Tata Steel acquiring Corus and Hindalco buying Novelis) and the country is experiencing
a consumption driven boom with some sectors showing staggering growth (Telephone and
Passenger cars). A stronger profile on the international political stage, and getting recognized as
one of the fastest growing economies in the world, helps creating a palpable sense that India is on
the move. Though we still fight hurdles like burgeoning population, red tape and infrastructure,
ours can be a promising economy to invest our talent and industriousness. The young
entrepreneurs can leverage on our vast labor pool (largest pool of technocrats and professionals),
well established educational system, English proficiency, quality and cost advantage.

This is what the world thinks of India: ‘India has among the highest returns on foreign
investment’—US Department of Commerce, ‘We came to India for the costs, stayed for the quality,
and are now investing for innovation’ Dan Scheinman, Cisco System Inc, Business Week, August
2005, ‘India is a developed country as far as intellectual capital is concerned’ Jack Welch, General
Electric. And so, that precious novel idea that our entrepreneurs can think of and implement can
make a difference to a growing economy like ours…... keep working on your ideas and explore if
they can be turned into a venture.

Padmaja. N
Principal Mentor Soft Skills

Age of Gamers

There are many things that I fondly remember of my days as an MSITian. Most of them related
to the gaming frenzy that my batch was engaged in. I am sure this would be so, across all
batches. Remember the days when we’d shout across the lab to tell someone that a sniper has
him in his crosshairs? Or to tell someone that the Celts have started building Watchtowers?
Clans would pause AOE and form separate huddles, to discuss strategies. The intensity on their
faces would make one wonder if they were conspiring a murder. We would curse ‘Vasily’ for
taking out half of the opponents’ team from a vantage point with his sniper. Some would curse
‘Yogi’ for rushing into the enemy camp with his Sub-machine blazing and not felling even one
guy. No one would forget the gyaan given by Duhh to his fello CSers. Nor will any of us forget
how much B loved sneaking up behind someone. Games did more than just provide
entertainment – they bound us together. The Age of Empires clans still form huddles, albeit in
the virtual world, each in a different corner of the country. We still call each other by our
handle names, than by our real names.
Like it or not, games were an integral part of MSIT. And they should be, for all the benefits that
gaming has on the player. A great deal has been written and said about games leading to
violent behavior and addiction. However, all is not negative about gaming, studies by leading
researchers have shown that video and computer games have many benefits:

1. Computer games are known to improve hand-eye co-ordination and help players gain
many skills.
2. Games induce decision making and tech players to think on their feet.
3. Games create team players and hone social skills too.
4. Games are known to enhance creativity and inculcate a taste for graphics, design and
technology.
5. Many games improve language and math skills as players have to move at a great speed
along with the heroes of the game.
6. Games teach players problem solving, motivation, and cognitive skills. Most games inspire
players to strive and reach more difficult levels presenting challenges at each stage.
Some genres of games worth mentioning in this are ‘Life Simulation’, ‘Role Playing’ and
‘Strategy’. The Life Simulation Games involve living or controlling one or more artificial lives. A
game of this genre can revolve around individuals and relationships, or it could be a simulation
of an ecosystem. Biological simulations may allow the player to experiment with genetics,
survival or ecosystems. An early example is SimLife, while a relatively recent one is Jurassic
Park: Operation Genesis. In other educational simulations such as Wolf, the player “lives the
life” of an individual animal in a relatively realistic way. Social Simulation games like The Sims
base their gameplay on the social interaction between multiple artificial lives.
Role Playing Games(RPGs) cast the player in the role of one or more “adventurers” who
specialize in specific skill sets while progressing through a predetermined storyline. There are
two different types of RPGs. The first involves the player creating a character and a non-linear
storyline along which the player makes his own decisions. In the second type, the player
controls a party of predefined characters through a dramatically scripted linear storyline.
Massively multiplayer online role playing games or MMORPGs, emerged in the mid to late. By
and large, MMORPGs feature the usual RPG objectives of completing quests and strengthening
one’s player character, but involve up to hundreds of players interacting with each other on the
same persistent world in real-time. Games like World of Warcraft from this genre are highly
popular among gaming enthusiasts.

Strategy games focus on gameplay requiring careful and skillful thinking and planning in order
to achieve victory. In most strategy games, the player is given a godlike view of the game
world, indirectly controlling the units under his command. Strategy video games generally take
one of four archetypal forms, depending on whether the game is turn-based or real-time and
whether the game’s focus is upon strategy or military tactics. The best known examples would
be Civilization and Age of Empires.
The phenomenon of the videogame as an agent of mental training is largely unstudied; more
often, games are denigrated for being violent or they’re just plain ignored. They shouldn’t be.
Young gamers today aren’t training to be gun-toting carjackers. They’re learning how to learn.
In Pikmin, children manage an army of plantlike aliens and strategize to solve problems. In
Metal Gear Solid 2, players move stealthily through virtual environments and carry out intricate
missions. Even in the notorious Vice City, players craft a persona, build a history, and shape a
virtual world. In strategy games like WarCraft III and Age of Mythology, they learn to
micromanage an array of elements while simultaneously balancing short- and long-term goals.

Construction and management simulation are a type of simulation game which task players to
build, expand or manage fictional communities or projects with limited resources. In city
building games the player acts as overall planner or leader to meet the needs and wants of
game characters by initiating structures for food, shelter, health, spiritual care, economic
growth, etc. Success is achieved when the city budget makes a growing profit and citizens
experience an upgraded lifestyle in housing, health, and goods. While military development is
often included, the emphasis is on economic strength. Perhaps the most known game of this
type is SimCity, which is still popular and has had great influence on later city-building games.
Business Simulation games generally attempt to simulate an economy or business, with the
player controlling the economy of the game.
Unlike other genres of games, ‘God games’ often do not have a set goal that allows a player to
win the game. The focus of a god game tends to be control over the lives of people, anywhere
from micromanaging a family to overseeing the rise of a civilization. A government simulating
game (or “political game”) involves the simulation of the policies, government or politics of a
country, but typically excludes warfare. Recently, these types of games have gained the moniker
“serious games”.

When people play videogames they can experience a much more powerful form of learning
than when they’re in the classroom. Learning isn’t about memorizing isolated facts. It’s about
connecting and manipulating them. The secret of a videogame as a teaching machine isn’t its
immersive 3-D graphics, but its underlying architecture. Each level dances around the outer
limits of the player’s abilities, seeking at every point to be hard enough to be just doable. In
cognitive science, this is referred to as the regime of competence principle, which results in a
feeling of simultaneous pleasure and frustration - a sensation as familiar to gamers as sore
thumbs. Most educational institutions, however, seek to avoid invoking feelings of both
pleasure and frustration, blind to the fact that these emotions can be extremely useful when it
comes to teaching.

Also, good computer games incorporate the principle of expertise. They tend to encourage
players to achieve total mastery of one level, only to challenge and undo that mastery in the
next, forcing kids to adapt and evolve. This carefully choreographed dialectic has been
identified by learning theorists as the best way to achieve expertise in any field. This doesn’t
happen much in our routine-driven syllabi, where “good” students are often just good at
“completing the course”.
The fact that MSITians have always been playing games is an open secret. I think it is something
that’s necessary, as long as it is under ‘permissible limits’. A game does to the mind, what a
morning jog does to the body. However it is also important to realize how much of gaming is
okay. Too much of Gulab Jamun can hurt, you see! So, set your priorities right and game on
MSITians!

SPREE, THE MAKERS

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