If you are thanking the lord right now after reading the title, relieved that by reading this you will easily survive through the semesters, then I’m afraid you are wrong. I mean that is the intent. But at the end of the day, it’s your efforts that counts. After all, EEE means Efforts in Electrical Engineering. Okay, it doesn’t.
Couple of things I want y’all to know before we begin my survival story. I AM NOT A TOPPER. Yes, that is bold and in capital. Don’t consider this as a Holy Bible and certainly don’t bring me your doubts. I will go blank and you will feel as if reading an actual Bible would have helped you more in passing the semester. There are times when I realize all my Do’s and Dont’s only after the end semester. This way, I can only hope you would not do the same mistakes.
I am going to be direct about my experience with the faculty. I am aware this will be shared on a public platform (Read : The SC group) and may come across any of the faculty or higher authorities. I would request them to take this as a criticism from my side, with utmost respect. And it is also something that I must have pointed out in the annual feedback. Hope my intent is clear here.
Alright, so let’s begin! Now that we are heading for the even semester, I have only passed 4th and am myself going in 6th so only the 2nd years would find this helpful. Don’t worry, I will cover all the semesters. I don’t remember my first year much. But if people want it, I can try for that too!
A GENERAL GUIDE (FOR ANY SEMESTER)
- You must have known it by now. Or if not, you will know it soon. It is far from easy to score in this department. Though I still think poor folks at ECE have it way more difficult. But the fact is you never get to discard even one course as easy. Every course has its own rules and needs its own time for handling. The sooner you accept this, the better.
- Don’t start calculating grades till your actual results comes out. Just don’t. I have tried it each sem, and the results are always below the expectations. It is important for you to give your absolute best irrespective of whether you are scoring good, bad or anything in between.
- And this is for everyone : DON’T GET TOO AFFECTED BY THE CGPA. See, with that statement, I can prove that I don’t have a great one. But that doesn’t mean I don’t mean it. I really do. Find the field where you are really good at, and try to focus on that. Even if you fail to find one, don’t worry. Things will still fall into place. But GPA is not everything. Bear in mind. And at the same time, don’t go too much into negligence.
- Take labs seriously. Attend them all if you can. They are a completely different and random ball game though. Give in your best and still you may not get the grades, thanks to a system that I don’t consider fair. But if you don’t take them seriously, it will make you stay back after end sems. So, by hook or by crook, labs should be a priority.
Alright, so let’s deal with one course at a time.
ELECTRICAL MACHINERY – II
Faculty : James Anthony Pinto
With this one, you have the advantage of knowing the subject from the previous sem. But then, you also know the dread that surrounds it. It may sound horrid, but it’s even worse than EM-I. Personally, I do find the course interesting. But the way it was taught was so random, that you end up getting confused on –
- What is going on?
- What is important and what is not?
- And more importantly,why there is so less of numericals done when you actually are asked only that?
And please, don’t even get me started with the regularity of assignments, or the lack of it. As far as I remember, there were 3 assignments taken in the last week of the semester. This completely destroys the purpose of having the assignments. It may prepare you for the end sems, but it is during the sessionals that you need it the most. And in my opinion, sessionals are the makers and breakers of grades. Good thing you have something which I didn’t (you’ll know soon). We even got the course plan in the middle of the semester.
There is a singular book that will be your true mate during this tough time – Bakshi.
Believe me, this will be the only book needed for one and all. The faculties won’t ask you to refer it and it won’t be in the list of references given by the college. But the simplicity of the language and tons of solved examples makes it an ideal book. I doubt you will get it from the library. Better buy yourself a copy. And please do keep it for the next sem too. Like you have EM-I lab this time, you will have lab for this one in the next sem. And you certainly need it during the viva.
SIGNALS AND SYSTEMS
Faculty: BK Singh
First of all, if you get this faculty – you are open to either scream in happiness, or cry for your fate. Because you are guaranteed of two things –
- The most organized notes in the world. He writes down every step on the board and you will have enough time to copy it down.
- Thanks to the point 1 above, you will loose count of the number of lectures. You better give up on comparing the concepts covered with the other classes early on. He will go really, really slow.
I don’t quite remember how many lectures he had taken exactly. So it will be fun if you keep a count and tell me by the end of the sem somehow.
Talking of the course itself, I don’t think there is much to share. The notes will suffice for you as sir would cover every type of problem possible on the planet. But you will get through it only if you are good with Fourier concepts. (People making faces on “Fourier”, I understand) There are many books that will be thrown as references. But frankly,I got confused with the difficulty level that I would eventually get in the exams. So better stick to the notes and excel at it. And once you are done there, head to the books.
MATHEMATICS – IV
Faculty: Dr. Sudhakara
You also might agree to the fact that mathematics has been consistently underwhelming ever since we met it at college. It was so cool till 12th. I don’t know whether it’s just in our college, but the syllabus ranges from being robotic and bland to just abstract. And the faculty..well let’s not get there.
That is why I was so relieved to have this prof with us for the semester. Not only because he teaches well, but mainly because his notes are the question paper. Quite literally. Now don’t go gaga over this and spread it so much that the said faculty might stop it. (I am being modest and thinking not many people would be reading this). But it’s a fact and I’ve witnessed it. The questions are completely taken from the class notes. Him being a senior faculty and the course co-ordinator, has complete control over what question goes in. That doesn’t mean that those questions would be easy. But at least you have a solution to rely on. In the darkest cave, even a small light is enough to save you from the darkness.
So, it’s a no-brainer to state that you should be referring to Sudhakara sir’s notes first and foremost. If not that, the questions may come from the book by Cacoullos which he will stress out to refer. Previously, even asking doubts in the cabins didn’t used to help. Here, you don’t need to and even if you do, he will explain you again with more clarity and a cool mind. Of course, student from any class can approach him.
When all else fails, you always have Grewal. So keep that with you.
ANALOG SYSTEM DESIGN
Faculty: Vineeth Patil
By the name you would have known by now, that the course is an extension of AEC that you had in the last sem. When you are just out of the world of MOSFETs, ASD might scare you. But deep down, the course is easier than AEC. Since you are dealing in the system level and Operational-Amplifier is your good old chap, concepts are a bit easier to understand. For major parts, the course structure would again focus more on the theory and they will ask numericals in the exams. This time though, working your way through that will be easier.
I remember myself spending hours in the library finding the perfect textbook that goes along with the course content. Believe me – finding one is mission impossible. The only way to get a grip on the course is by taking notes. No, don’t borrow the notes. Unless you yourself make one while carefully attending the lectures, it won’t help. Patil Sir is the best among the 3 in explaining you the concepts, but then, he is strict with his assignments. Come what may, you can’t lure him to postpone them. So get done with the assignments ASAP.
DIGITAL SYSTEM DESIGN & COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
Faculty: Sandhyalaxmi Nevada
Again, it’s a level next from DEC. The catch here is you need to be versed with all the concepts of DEC well enough to actually get this course. If, by any chance, you have kept your DEC notes with you (YOU SHOULD preserve all your notes. You never know when you will need them) then you should be fine. I would say this is the easiest of all the 5 department courses here. Verilog will be a smooth ride for code-lovers and non code-lovers alike.
The other part Computer Architecture is pure rote learning and you better be good at it. Thankfully, they swear by just one book by Raffiquzzaman (it’s there in the reference list). I had bought this book from the Book Bank because – it is easily available and you do need it for the entire second half of the semester.
OPEN ELECTIVE
What I had : FILM STUDIES
Faculty: Abhay Shetty
Now this would be useful for very few. But if you are one of them, then congrats! Film Studies as an OE is a much-needed break from the regular monotonous lecture, if nothing else. If you are mad about movies (like I am), then you will love it even more. But be prepared to watch the oldest of movies, in the most unknown languages. I mean, c’mon,you can’t expect a Bhai film here, right?
You are supposed to make a short film which would constitute half of your internals. Don’t start worrying about how and where will you get the resources. You can do good with a camera phone too. Just try getting the other aspects of filmmaking right.
It’s easy marks nonetheless, and the lectures were conducted in a casual manner. And even if none of that sounds interesting, there is utmost leniency shown with the attendance.
As a side note, if you are interested in what I had made as a short film, you can watch it here. (It’s very tacky, but made with love!)
IMPORTANT LINKS
Ladies and Gentlemen. Here is the link I have painstakingly created just for you. (Just kidding. It didn’t take much pain)
Head to this drive link
The below drive folder contains assignments, course plans and the thing you need the most – sessional question papers from the previous year. This can at least give you the idea of what to expect. I don’t know whether they give the same assignments each time. Maybe you can let me know sometime later. But the sheer lack of questions had led to lots of confusion for us in the past. You at least have this as a reference.
There are also some resources that they provide us only once the syllabus is covered. I feel it’s better to have them beforehand to revise it during your preps for sessionals and assignments.
There are some stuff missing. I will keep updating it as and when I find the missing stuff.
There is this link I think many are not aware of – libgen.io
Almost every foreign author books and some Indian author books are available for download here ; most of the times with the solution manual too. So before heading to the library for a particular book, you can check whether its pdf is available here or not. If not, then you can use the good ol method of Googling them.
With that, I hope you are somewhat ready to tackle the upcoming sem. If you want to know something more, let me know in the comments. I will try to help as much as I can.
And do keep following the facebook page to know the updates done to this piece, if any.
BEST OF LUCK!
THE VIKHYATH TIMES 