WINGS TO FLY

“Footsteps” is a social venture to identify and encourage today’s youth to prepare them for the unforeseen future using education as a powerful tool. To enlighten the students for various carrier scopes, a workshop “WINGS TO FLY” was conducted by Footsteps on 4th September 2015 at Dronacharya College of Engineering, Gurgaon. Total 53 final year students from all the branches attended the workshop.

Mr. Rohit Kandakatla, the founder of Footsteps and president of IUCEE - SPEED, presided over the workshop. He inspired the final year students to realize their dreams and passions so that they can choose career of their choices. He asked the students to form their action plans to achieve their goals. A Goal functions as a kind of thesis statement for the action plan. He explained how the tasks should be channelized to fulfill the mission. While forming goals students should keep in mind that effective goals are action oriented, clear and are related directly to the problem. He discussed that goals can bring success only if it is organized and rational.

The first activity conducted was “Recalling Memories”. The aim of this activity was to show difference between aspirations and achievement. Aspirations begin to be shaped early in a child’s life, but are modified by experience and the environment. Aspirations tend to decline as children mature, in response to their growing understanding of the world and what is possible, and to constraints imposed by previous choices and achievements. This decline is particularly marked for those facing multiple barriers. This causes the aspiration-attainment gap. In order to gauge the mindset of the students, group of six students each were made to write down six attributes required for a comfortable career choice and to match these with the exactions of the chosen profession. It was emphasized that student’s should recognize that their Passion is a Hobby or a Potential Career. A hobby is an enjoyable pursuit sought after one's regular occupation. A career is a full-time income-producing occupation. So, is it possible to turn a hobby into an actual career? A hobby can be an important part of choosing a career. It is a window into what a person loves and values to do most naturally. And so it is the most important component of a flourishing career

In The next session students were paired up for the event “Face the Boss”. This activity was framed to accustom the students in dealing with complex situations and to make them realize their potential managerial, listening and organizing skills. Then the concept of S.M.A.R.T. was explained to them. It is an acronym used for terms that represent business essentials which need to be delivered. The word S.M.A.R.T. is defined as:

1. Specific - The exact outcome to be achieved for the period.

2. Measurable - Units of accuracy, timeliness, completeness, quality, quantity rate or cost used to determine progress and achievement.

3. Attainable - The objective can be achieved within the scope of the role, skills and capabilities with appropriate effort and motivation.

4. Relevant – The objective states the individual’s share of the work to be done for the department.

5. Time - framed - The objective has a realistic time frame for completion.

Students were detailed about the following:

1. Time management: It includes setting clear goals, breaking goals down into discreet steps, and reviewing progress towards goals. Other skills involved include prioritizing - focusing on urgent and important tasks rather than those that are not important or don't move one towards their goals; organizing work schedule; list making to remind of what need to do when; persevering when things are not working out and avoiding procrastination.

2. Communication: It included interpersonal Communication Skills, Presentation Skills, Writing Skills and Personal Skills.

3. Project management: It is the discipline of carefully projecting or planning, organizing, motivating and controlling resources to achieve specific goals and meet specific success criteria.

For better explanation S.W.O.T. analysis was carried out where the students documented their strengths and weakness. They were briefed about carrier options in higher studies, as a service holder and as an entrepreneur. Students were explained in details about the facts of all these three areas.

The workshop was a complete package of presentations, group activities and active learning schemes which made it very interactive and quick to learn. The workshop made students to envision their goals keeping future in mind and mobilize the resources to achieve those targets. They have to set priority of their actions keeping timelines in mind. They were further educated to analyze stage wise progress of their targets and make mid course corrections.

Some Glimpses: